DEVIL MAY CRY: Deviant Bedlam
by Le loup de Kaiser
Summary: Warning. Multi-crossover with five titles...DMC, Shugo Chara, Zettai Kareshi, Negima, Rosario Vampire...Even devils cry...But one thing is for sure...For the stylish hunter for hire, the words ‘chaos’ and ‘an army of demons’ ring only one thing in mind…
1. Secret Mission 01: My would be self

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Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

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A/N: Okay, this is another story I had in mind that I couldn't properly let go from paper. It's a completely different breed of storyline that focuses on multicrossovers…there! I said it! MULTICROSSOVERS! If you hate this type of story, then what the hell right?

Barkeep: Great. So this is your stupid story. I read the damn script and how on earth are ya gonna' pay the cast? The credits for this will last longer than a song from Dragonforce!

It won't. Trust me on this one. At least it's not as long as a Michael Jackson video. Anyway, you have been warned. So please read on at your risk and enjoy. After all, walking in the world of Dante is a rock show waiting to happen. ^_^

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 01: **_My would be self_

**|01|01|01|01|01||01|01|01|01|01||01|01|01|01|01||01|01|01|01|01||01|01|01|01|01||01|01|01|**

Another morning rose over a certain city in Japan.

Another day to think about what to do for a normal life.

As the sun glowed gently upon the residents of a small suburban neighborhood, several people steadily rocked themselves out of bed and into their everyday lives. One of them would be an elementary student of Seiyo Academy with an unusual spirit around her. To be more accurate, four unusual spirits. Three are active and one remains dormant.

The light of the sun washed over her eyelids making her awaken to another morning. She sat up from her bed and shook her shoulder length pink hair in place and opened her yellow eyes to the world around her. She was partially sleepy but nonetheless awake.

She then quickly took a bath and got dressed for school. She wore a black business suit with white long sleeved polo underneath, a red tie and checkered skirt and leg warmers of the same color. Though the normal uniform didn't have the knee length, red leg warmers as part of the attire, she wore them anyway along with her belt that fastened over her white polo underneath and on her skirt.

The pree-teen then fastened a red x shaped clip on her hair on the left side give an off sided ponytail and then she fastened the cuffs of her polo over her black suit giving her a natural style. When she finished dressing up, she picked up her schoolbag and walked out of her room and down the stairs to the table where her family was seated.

"Ohayo Amu-chan!" exclaimed her father, Hinamori Tsumugu.

"Ah!" said, Hinamori Midori, Amu's mother. "You look lively today." She continued as she adjusted her glasses and fixed her deep, brown hair.

Amu then lazily waved at them and said with an uninterested voice, "Ohayo."

Suddenly, a little girl at the same table said, "Onee-chan, pway wid me after skewwl."

Amu replied with a frown, "Ami, eat or talk, pick one. And I can't play with you. I have things to do after school."

Midori then said as she wiped the little girl's mouth with a hankerchief, "Ami-chan, Amu can't play with you later. She's become very busy."

"Papa can play with you later!" Tsumugu exclaimed.

Ami then said, "No! Ami wants to play with onee-chan. She pwomised!"

Amu then made a face of pardon as she faced Ami. She put her hands together in a pleading gesture as she said, "Gomen but I really need to stay after school later. We'll play some other time okay?"

"THERE IS NO OTHER TIME!" a voice echoed from Amu's left. She looked in shock at the direction where it came from and saw that it was from the TV. Apparently, it was the morning special of Nobuko Saeki. The 54-year old fortune teller was currently doing a morning broadcast despite the fact that her show normally starts in the evening.

Amu then frowned as she watched the show. _'It must be another morning special.'_ She thought.

The old fortune teller then continued. "TONIGHT IS AN UNLUCKY NIGHT! I can feel the evil spirits gathering at this very moment. Be sure to go home early and avoid white hair, red trenchcoats and a black guitar case. And if you meet someone with all three, do not get in their car or face the adventure of a lifetime! I'm warning you! That's right! I'm talking to you!"

Suddenly Amu turned off the TV making the now worried parents confused.

Tsumugu then said, "Amu-chan, it might be bad to stay out late tonight."

Midori pitched in her worry. "That's right. Nobuko-san's fortune telling is never wrong."

Amu put down the remote, stood up from her seat and took her brown suitcase and held it with her left hand over her left shoulder. She then said with a little confidence, "Why should I be concerned with that stuff?" she then walked to the door and slipped on her shoes and said as she walked out, "Me meeting someone like that is impossible. But I can at least make it home a little early."

When she walked out the door, her parents suddenly had sparkles in their eyes. The both of them then said, "AHHHH! Cool and Spicy!"

Amu continued walking to her school. When she was a few blocks away from home, she stopped. Seeing as no one was there, she then suddenly went into a panicking frenzy. "WAAAAH! She was talking to me again!" she then shook her head to look around in her panicked state. "White hair? Why white hair? Is there anyone with white hair? Then there's the red trenchcoat and the guitar case!"

Eventually she stopped panicking and went to school. The day went out pretty normal until she went to the Royal Garden where the guardians, the school's student council, sat down and drank tea. As she sat down, she looked around and saw, Hotori Tadase, the king's chair, in front of her from the round table. To his left, Yuiki Yaya, the Ace's chair. To Tadase's right, Fujisaki Nagihiko, the Jack's chair. Beside Nagihiko was Mashiro Rima, the Queen's chair.

Tadase said as he looked at the team, "It's a really nice day today wouldn't you think?"

Nagihiko nodded and replied, "I think so too. There haven't been any incidents lately."

Yaya slumped in her seat and frowned. "Yaya is bored. There's nothing fun to do at all. It's the same as yesterday and the day before that."

Rima then spoke. "Easter hasn't done anything lately so a good break is really rare. We should enjoy this time."

Yaya complained, "But it's so boring! Yaya wants to chara change and find the Embryo!"

Suddenly, a little prince with purple hair and blue eyes flew in and hovered above the table as he said, "Did someone say Embryo!"

Amu replied, "We were just talking about how boring today is Kiseki."

Suddenly, six more fairy-like people flew in. One was in a red cheerleader outfit with a heart shaped clip on her head, another with a blue artists outfit and a spade on her blue beret, another in a green Lolita outfit with a clover on her headband, another in a red clown outfit and another in a baby's outfit and a pacifier.

The one in green asked Amu with a smile, "Did you sleep well Amu-chan?"

Amu replied in the same manner. "Hai, Su-chan. How about you guys? Are you alright staying here all by yourselves?"

The one in the cheerleader outfit then energetically said, "It's fun to camp out at night! Although Pepe-chan snores really loud."

The one in a baby outfit replied with her arms crossed, "Sorry for being so loud. Pepe-chan's a baby. I can't help it."

The one in the artist's outfit retorted, "Since when did baby's snore? We couldn't sleep right away because of that. Right, Kusukusu?"

The one in the clown outfit nodded and made a muffled laughing sound.

Tadase suddenly remembered something important and said, "Speaking of tonight, We'll cancel the after class meeting. It's dangerous tonight."

Amu flinched and said, "You don't mean…"

Yaya then cut in and said, "Nobuko's fortune this morning sounded really bad. And she's never wrong."

Amu then crossed her legs and said with a slight snobbish attitude, "Even if she's never wrong the chance of meeting someone like that is zero. Who goes around wearing a red trenchcoat anyway?"

Nagihiko then said with a smile, "That's Amu for you. Your obstinate side never fails to show."

Rima replied, "For once I agree."

Amu then said in panic, "But what should I do?! The essay is due tomorrow and the school library doesn't have the books I'm looking for!" she then sighed in dismay as everyone around her sweatdropped.

Tadase tried to comfort her but she said in grievance, "And everyone made up that meeting just so that I could finish it even though I slacked off."

Rima replied without looking, "Then don't finish it. It's better to be safe than sorry if you're not sure with what to do."

Kiseki hovered just in front of Amu and said, "She's right. Even if it's despicable of a king to leave things unfinished, I won't let any of my subjects get hurt for my sake!"

Everyone looked at Kiseki with surprise. "What? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Tadase said with a natural smile, "Kiseki, I never knew you cared that much."

Pepe said in return, "So the tyrant king has a soft side."

Kiseki tried to recant his act but everyone laughed it off. Amu knew that it wasn't worth it if it was at the cost of her safety but with her stubborn persona, it really wasn't a choice to her.

Eventually, school ended and everyone went their separate ways. Amu then boarded a nearby bus along with Ran, the one in a cheerleader outfit, Miki, the artist, and Su, the one in a green and white Lolita outfit. It was a long trip to the city library so it would be long before she reached her destination. The three Shugo Charas sat by the windowsill and watched the world pass by.

Ran suddenly said, "Is it alright to go out right now Amu-chan?"

Miki chimed in and said, "What's so important that you have to go out?"

Amu replied "It's the last essay of my English class. My grades in English have gotten bad and I need to do well in this one."

Ran thought and said, "So that's why. I forgot that with all the X Eggs that we have been chasing, you didn't have enough time to study."

Su then said, "It must be hard being the Joker, Amu-chan."

Amu sighed and said, "Tonikakun, it's the last essay for the year and I'll never need to write another essay again."

Miki asked as she focused on Amu, "What's the essay all about?"

Amu placed a finger under her chin as she thought out loud, "It's about ancient legends. I was supposed to write an essay on the story that I picked out of the hat in class."

The Shugo Charas were interested with her task and all three asked, "What story did you get?"

Amu sighed as she said, "Italian fables."

The Shugo Charas were amazed and Miki said, "Italian stories are artistic and romantic."

Ran pitched in and said, "Amu-chan got a nice choice!"

Amu retorted, "Don't get carried away. We'll be there just for one story then we leave."

The three nodded in reply. Just as they finished their conversation, the mini TV above the seat of the bus driver showed another music video on screen. It was a new music video entitled, _**Discotheque**_. Apparently, six girls clad in dancing outfits danced to the beat of the song while the pink haired one in the video was the vocalist. Amu and her Shugo Charas watched it with awe as did everyone else in the bus.

Amu saw the pink haired vocalist and said, _'Kirei…she's even more beautiful than Utau-chan. I wish I could be like her someday…'_

By the time the music video ended, the bus arrived just a block away from the city library. It was a moderately large library of Romanesque design with high-rise steps and a single tower just a little off center, to the right. It was unusual that the design was of old European. Although the rest of the buildings around it were of the atypical Japanese and modern day design, this building stood out with its Middle Age feel.

Amu saw it and said, "Sugoi. It's so big."

"Is this your first time here Amu-chan?" Miki asked.

Amu nodded and replied, "I've never seen Old Western buildings like these before."

She then waited by the pedestrian lane for the cars to stop so she could cross. While she waited, Ran then asked Amu, "Ne Amu-chan, what book are you going to read?"

Miki then said, "Of course it will be a romantic story of a prince and a princess!"

Su suddenly butted in and said, "But in Amu-chan's case, there are two princes."

Amu suddenly remembered Tsukuyomi Ikuto, and Hotori Tadase. She shook her head and whispered harshly, "It's nothing like that! Let's go." With that she crossed the street alongside the other people on her side of the street. But as she went, she saw on the other side, a glimpse of a tall, white haired man in a red trenchcoat with a red belted undershirt and black long sleeved shirt underneath that. She also saw that he had a black belt with a large square belt buckle holding his maroon pants up. She even saw that he had black motorcycle boots and fingerless gloves of the same color. But what made it worse was that he was carrying a black guitar case over his left shoulder.

Amu's eyes widened as he suddenly disappeared in the crowd. She stopped causing her Shugo Charas to wonder but then she bolted into the library and ran straight to the restroom. Good thing her guardian spirits were quick to pick up the change in pace and ran inside the restroom where they saw a pale faced Amu holding her head while crying anime tears inside a stall.

Ran asked in dismay, "What's wrong Amu-chan?!"

Amu sobbed in reply while her eyes swirled. "Waahh! I-I-I s-saw…."

Su asked, "Saw what?"

Amu half yelled, "I saw Him!"

Miki wondered who was it and asked, "Eh? Who? Ikuto?"

Amu replied, "It's no mistake! White hair…red trenchcoat…black guitar case…Why do these things happen to me?!"

Ran replied, "Daijobu Amu-chan. You didn't get in his car, right?"

Amu nodded and snapped out of her stupor. "What was I so worried about? I only saw him."

Ran cheered for her as Amu got out of the bathroom and asked the librarian where the children's books are. She was told the exact location and began her search there. She looked high and low among the colorful shelves of the children's section but could find no Italian fables.

Amu then walked out of the children's section and thought, _'None here either? Maybe if I asked the librarian.'_

She went over to the librarian and asked. "Sumimasen, is there any books with Italian fables?"

The librarian checked the directory in her computer with care. She had eyebags that said her purple eyes were burnt in late night shifts and the fact that her gray suit was slightly disorganized said she was tired. Her brown hair wasn't prim and as proper as it should be but she worked nonetheless. When she finished her search, she replied to the expectant Amu, "There is one book." Amu brightened up until the librarian said, "Tadashi, it may be a little too mature for you."

Amu replied, "It's okay. Please, tell me."

The librarian replied, "It's called, _**Legenda di Sparda. **_It's in the very end of the room on the first floor. Look under FF564."

Amu then walked around looking for the directory FF564. The first floor was at least three thousand square meters wide with several gargoyles adorning the interior archways that gave it an ancient greek city feel to the room. That and the entire second floor was made of ancient roman highways with circular jutting walkways to the sides of the roads were the shelves stood.

Miki awed at the architectural marvel and said, "It's amazing! The art…the way it was designed…I'm in paradise!"

Ran sweatdropped and said, "It's not really paradise with all the scary statues."

Amu shivered when she looked at the statues. If one were to look closely, it looks almost as if they were alive. Amu shook her head and said, "Le-let's just ignore them for now." _'But it's so scary here! I want to go home!!!'_

Amu weaved through the architectural marvel in search of FF564. She moved all the way towards the back room of the large library and found that there was no shelf between shelf FF532—FF563 and shelf FF575—FF594.

"Heh? It's not here?" Amu asked in frustration.

Su then hollered out to Amu. "Amu-chan, mite!"

Amu, Ran and Miki looked to where Su was pointing and saw a door by a completely barren wall. At the top of the door was the directory FF564—FF574

Amu's eyes widened in joy as she read the sign. "Efu efu gorokushi…this is it. Nice job Su."

As Amu, Ran and Su were about to enter, Miki suddenly paled and said, "Matte! Don't enter!"

The other three looked at her and saw her paled face. Amu asked, "What's wrong Miki?"

Miki shook her head and said, "Iie. Nandemonai desu."

The other three entered a little annoyed that it wasn't very important but as the four entered, Miki thought, _'gorokushi sounds like koroshi…that's a very bad omen. Maybe I'm just too worried this time.'_(For those who don't understand, 5-6-4 is pronounced go-roku-shi in Japanese. It's a pun on the word koroshi which is Japanese for murder.)

When Amu entered, she saw the small circular room. It was dimly lit by glowing imitation lanterns. It was like a small arena with several small, arced shelves about waist high forming the shape of the circle with a depression pit in the center for the round table to stand, surrounded by five wooden chairs. The top of the walls had human sized ventilation shafts and had a built in air conditioning to keep the enclosed room at a slightly cooler temperature since there were no windows. But opposite the door of the room stood a cage about ten feet high, which was just three feet below the ceiling. Within the cage stood a stone podium with a strange, faded runic book. In fact, the same runic designs were found on the table in the center of the room.

Amu started looking in the shelves right away while Miki, Ran and Su did the same.

They looked through the shelves and found many interesting books. One of them was a book on Mundus Magicus, another on vampires, another on demons, one on magic, one on ninjutsu, one on dragons, and many more. Of course, to Amu, the hairs on her skin stood up more and more as she saw the weird titles and the ominous looking books. Amu then stopped searching and said, "Chotto matte. All these books are about fantasy but they're all weird and some look like they're possessed by a…"

"Ghost?" Ran questioned, making Amu shiver in fright.

Miki noticed her scared figure and said, "That's right! Amu-chan's afraid of ghosts."

Amu then let her obstinate attitude out and crossed her arms and said in fake confidence, "Who's afraid of ghosts? There's no such thing anyway."

Ran retorted, "But there was that one time…"

Amu suddenly faced them and had angry saucer for eyes and sharpened teeth as she shouted at them, "I said there's no such thing!"

After Amu screamed at them, she sighed and said, "Even through all these books, I couldn't find one Italian fable. Is it really here?"

Ran replied, "Maybe there's a place we haven't checked yet."

Su replied, "But we checked everywhere and couldn't find it."

Miki then said with finality, "Then let's go home."

The other two Shugo Charas nodded before looking to Amu who was staring at the cage at the other end of the room.

"What is it Amu-chan?" Miki asked.

Amu replied, "Although it looks creepy, there's a book inside that cage."

The Shugo Charas looked and did in fact see a book inside.

"Maybe that's the book." Su chimed in.

Amu sweatdropped and replied, "But…I knew it. It's too suspicious looking for a book to be in a cage. We shouldn't go in."

Su replied as she flew to the book, "But it's the only book we haven't checked so it must be it."

Amu replied, "It's in a cage! It's obviously dangerous and the cage means no one's allowed to get inside!"

Su didn't show any signs of stopping so Amu ran after her alongside Ran and Miki.

When Amu caught up to her, she wished this day never happened. Lo and behold, _**Legenda di Sparda**_ sat on the stone podium. She then said, "It's here…"

The Shugo Charas nodded in reply. The door to the cage was closed and there seemed to be a strange round mechanism like an old boat's steering wheel except it was made of stone and had a faint red glow in the center of the wheel. (the one from the fourth game would freak her out so the third one is better.)

Amu saw the wheel, which she though was the lock and said, "Ahhh, it seems to be locked. So what now?"

Ran gave the door a little push and it opened wide with a slight creaking sound.

Amu then entered the cage and saw the book. It was old and looked like it had been used countless times. She then took the book and said, "Finally, I'm saved."

Miki then said, "Amu-chan, let's open it."

The four then sat down at the table in the center of the room and lifted the cover to see a word from the author which luckily, was written in japanese. It read,

_**This is dedicated to the person who betrayed his people to save an entire world. If it were not for the efforts of this man, humanity would have faced extinction that very day. **_

_**-Evangeline Athanasia Katherine Mcdowell**_

Amu said, "Heh? Is this a real story?"

Miki replied, "No. It was put in the section of fantasy because it isn't real. Authors of fantasy novels like to use the stories of real people and exaggerate them. That is how all fantasy stories start."

Amu accepted the reasoning and began reading the first page aloud. "_Long ago, in ancient times, a demon rebelled against his own kind for the sake of the human race. With his sword, he shut the portal to the demonic realm and sealed the evil creatures off from our human world. But since he was a demon himself, his power was also trapped on the other side. This tale sheds light upon that man and his true life as he lived it between this world and the demon world. Many know him by name as the Legendary Dark Knight. But we who were close to his side knew him as Sparda…."_

Amu paused for a minute and said, "A-A-Akuma?!"

Su retorted, "Amu-chan has it rough. Reading about a story of a demon. We shouldn't have picked up that book in the first place."

Ran replied, "But you were the one that insisted we read it in the first place."

Amu shakily replied, "A-anyway, it's just a book. It's not like it really happened right?" she laughed nervously before reading the next lines of the book. "_It was two thousand years ago since that day that he rebelled against the prince of darkness named Mundus. The dark prince was a powerful demon who was bent on conquering the human race and bringing chaos and destruction. Sparda was part of his unholy legion until he had a change of heart and decided to rebel against Mundus. The demon prince then sent his armies against Sparda to punish him for his betrayal. However, they were no match against Sparda who defeated them time and again and eventually, defeated Mundus himself and forever sealed him and his army back where they once came from by using his own blood and the blood of a mortal priestess. However, in doing so, he inevitably fell to his fate. Yet despite this…"_

Amu continued to read despite the fact she was getting more and more frightened with each passage she read. It didn't help that some of the pages were drawn picture pages giving a graphic description of some of the battles that Sparda fought and the demons he faced as well as a portrait of the man. Amu felt like vomiting when she saw the pictures of the demons and had to stop several times before reading on until she was able to see Sparda and decided to leave her reading at that page. She gazed at his picture and said, "He's pretty handsome."

Miki nodded and said, "So Amu-chan's dream guy is not human. But he's really handsome for a demon."

Amu faced Miki and said, "Miki! There's no way I'd fall for that. Besides, Tadase-kun is much better and kinder…"

Ran caught her and said, "Yay! Amu-chan finally admits her love! Fighto Amu-chan!"

Amu protested, "It's not like that!" but then Amu wondered about the time and checked her cellphone. She saw the time was eight fifty and said with wide eye, "It's that late already?!"

She then picked up the book and placed it in her bag. She and her Shugo Charas ran out of the room with haste and saw that the library was closed and absolutely empty.

"We got locked in." Ran said, stating the obvious.

Amu held her head and said, "Why didn't I check the time earlier? Now we're stuck here."

Ran then said, "We shouldn't give up just yet!"

Miki nodded in reply. "Maybe there's a way out like a window we can leave through."

Amu thought hard and then said, "I remembered seeing a tower just above us. There were no windows on it so we might be able to escape through there."

They then ran to the top of the tower and Amu was right. It was open air from the very top with the windows, large enough for her to escape from.

Amu then said, "Ran…"

Ran understood as the Shugo Charas nestled in her clothes. Ran then said, "Hopu, Steppu, Jump!"

Four, small, pink borderlined, white wings appeared over Amu's wrists and ankles and filled her with power. Amu then stepped out the window and jump from it ledge with all her might. She floated through the air with grace at the height of her jump. No longer afraid of heights, she saw the city below her and it was beautiful. As she fell through the air, she noticed that she wasn't going to land gracefully in the middle of the street.

She looked below and saw that she was going to land right on top of a garbage bin in an alley and it was left wide open leaving the heaps to cushion her fall. She screamed as she desperately tried to change her direction but ended up falling into the garbage bin anyway. She then crawled out and said, "Ughhh. This is a really rotten day. I really want to go home!"

She cried anime tears as she smelled herself and found a heavy stench upon her and her Shugo Charas. All four of them complained about the stench and Amu decided to go home from her little misadventure. But as she walked towards the bus station, her bag was swiftly snatched by a thief on the run.

She then chased after him and shouted, "Give me back my bag!" but this time however, the thief, in green rags and a red bonnet, was faster than he looked. She chased all the way to the center of the city where hundreds of people were walking around. In the crowd, she lost him.

Amu fell to her knees and said, "No way. After all that…"

Ran then said, "It's alright Amu-chan. You got to read most of it."

Amu then realized something vital as her eyes became mini saucers. "I brought the book with me…and because it was closing time…I…I…I STOLE THE BOOK!"

She half yelled the last phrase making the people around her look in curiosity. She quickly covered her mouth and ran as far away as possible while she thought, _'I stole the book! And what's worse is that what I accidentally stole got stolen from me!'_

Su suddenly said to Amu, "But the book was still in your bag. So that man stole it from you."

Amu yelled at her, "Shut up! Don't remind me anymore!"

Miki then said to Amu, "Calm down Amu-chan. We can still find it. We can ask the police to help us find him."

Ran retorted, "But if Amu-chan does that, she'll go to prison as well."

Amu then stopped by a bench and slumped beside it and became a pale white all over to emphasize her depression.

"Amu-chan! Get a hold of yourself!" all three of her guardians said.

Amu kept muttering, "I should've listened…if only I didn't see that guy…"

Ran shook her head and said, "She's losing herself…Let's call someone."

Ran then picked up Amu's cellphone from her pocket and tried to make a call only for the phone to die out. What a time to lose batteries.

Miki said, "No good either." She then got an idea and said, "We can at least fix our dirty clothes, right Su?"

Su said, "Yes. But," she looked at a still down Amu. "Amu-chan doesn't look up to it."

Ran then went to Amu and yelled, "AMU-CHAAAANNN! OH!!!"

She yelled as hard as she could and eventually, Miki and Su cheered her on. It went on until Amu faced them and saw the brightness in their eyes. Amu then replied with a little joy, "Arigato, mina. At least it wasn't so boring today."

Amu then got up and said, "Mina, Kaerimasho."

They nodded and Amu went to the bus stop by which time was already ten in the evening. She checked her wallet and saw that she had enough money to get home. Only problem was that at this time, there was no buses around.

She sat down and said with a sad tone, "I wonder when the next bus will arrive…"

Ran and her other guardian characters came back from looking at the bus schedule and had bad news to bear.

"Amu-chan…" Ran started. "The next bus will come by at six fifteen in the morning. What do we do?"

Amu then said, "It can't be helped. Ran. We'll chara change and fly home."

Su protested. "Dame desu. You will tire out."

Amu retorted, "It's alright. I can still take a little more before we head home."

She tried to stand up as she said, "Sa…mina…ikima—" but she couldn't finish her sentence and fell to her knees.

Her Shugo Charas went to her aid. Amu then thought, _'What's happening? I was okay awhile ago.'_

"Oi. Ojou-chan…" a gruff voice said. Amu looked up and saw five thugs looking at her.

A long haired thug then said, "Heeeh. Kore no onna wa kawaii desu yo.(This girl is cute didn't you know.)"

A bald thug then asked, "Aniki(Boss), what should we do with her?"

A leaner thug then said, "It's no fun playing with a little girl though. What do you think Aniki?(Boss)"

A rugged looking thug replied, "Don't look at me. Let's just take her stuff and dump her somewhere. Some old guy might take her in after."

Amu didn't like where things were going. She was surrounded and helpless as the huge man with a gruff voice started frisking her along with the leaner thug. She then screamed, "Hanashite! Tasukete!"

And just in the nick of time, the man that she was foretold to be an omen suddenly appeared behind the thugs and behind him was his red Mercedes Benz with its bright lights on, shining on them. The thugs stopped and partially covered their eyes as they saw the opaque shape of the tall man, emphasized by the bright lights. Amu couldn't recognize him well but knew someone was there.

The white haired man then said with an uninterested look, "Oh? So this is how far lowlifes have gotten these days."

"What was that?" the long haired thug said.

The white haired man continued, "Like stealing candy from a baby eh? And you call yourselves criminals. What? Did you lose out in the food chain or did you little kids get picked on by the girls at school?"

By this time they were pissed at him. But the man continued nonetheless and raised his arms up to a 'I'm the man' stance and said, "I think somebody needs a timeout. So who goes first?"

The long haired thug attacks first but as he swings his right fist, the white haired man catches his arm with his right hand and throws him up and allows the man to fall just behind his car. But the impact knocked him out for good.

The other three thugs except for the rough looking thug charged at once but were knocked out and sent flying into different directions. Neither Amu nor her Shugo Charas were able to follow his movements. It was as if the white haired man never moved at all.

The rough looking thug then quickly pulled Amu up by the right hand and held her by the neck with his left arm.

The white haired man then said in a coy manner, "What? No backup speech? That's it? Man, what a coward."

The leader replied, "Call me what you want but you don't have the right to talk back now. Am I right?"

The white haired man then turned around and turned off the headlights of his car. The leader made a small smile until the white haired man said, "Sheesh. And here I was hoping the guy not charging in was gonna put up a decent show. Guess the drinks are on me this time since I've got a wet nosed punk."

"What?" the rugged looking thug said with a hint of anger.

The white haired man said without looking, "Adios kid. You obviously don't want a challenge since you're too scared of one. Probably why you got so much punching bags surrounding your puny hide. But hey, I'd prefer a fair fight. Fighting hairy Chihuahuas ain't my style.

The rough looking thug threw Amu to the side and charged at the white haired man. He pulled a knife from his pocket to stab the red coated man. But before he could strike, the white haired man quickly ducked under the attempted stab and turned around. And just before he gave a right uppercut, he said, "Jackpot." And then gave the uppercut. The rough looking thug flew up into the air along with his knife. The white haired man caught the knife on his left hand first before giving a back left, side kick to the falling body of the rough looking thug when he came in range. The thug flew to the nearby lamppost, upside down before his knife was thrown back at him and embedded itself on the post and left him hanging there by the crotch area of his pants.

The white haired man then knelt down to Amu and said, "Are you alright?"

Amu looked into his blue eyes and saw his handsome face. Though he was attractive, the reason she stared at him was because he looked like someone familiar but couldn't trace where was the familiarity.

The white haired man then picked her up to her feet and said, "So what's a kid like you doing out here at this time of night?"

Amu couldn't really reply and the white haired man looked at the bus stop sign and said as he put his hands by his hips, "So it's like that huh? This is a hassle." He then turned around and quickly started his car and said to Amu, "Get in."

Amu suddenly remembered the premonition this morning and said, "I'll be alright thank you."

The white haired man tapped the seat next to him and said, "C'mon, do I look like a bad guy to you?" Amu nodded making the white haired man shake his head as he said, "Look, it'll do you no good out here alone with meatbags like these. And besides, I can't sleep well when I know there's a girl who made the headlines in tomorrow's paper because she was out alone at night."

Amu whispered to her Shugo Charas, "He looks suspicious but he's got a point."

"What should we do?" Asked Ran.

Su smiled and replied, "He doesn't look like a bad guy. I think it'll be alright."

Amu slightly nodded and said, "Okay. Please take me home."

"Now we're talking." Said the white haired man as Amu sat beside him.

Amu suddenly said with a slightly menacing look in her eyes, "But, if you take me anywhere else, then I'm getting out and calling the police."

The white haired man then drove them out of that spot and said, "Sure thing ojou-chan. Can't be too careful these days."

Amu gave him directions and he drove as instructed. It was deep in the city so they took the highway going to Amu's house. As they drove along, Amu looked at the backseat of the car and saw a black guitar case.

"I knew it. I shouldn't have gotten in." Amu muttered under her breath.

The white haired man replied, "Sheesh. If you're thinking of that fortune telling this morning, you'll just get paranoid."

Amu looked surprised and asked, "Eh? You watched it too?"

The white haired man replied, "Yeah I did. Ever since then, a couple of people have been avoiding me like the black plague."

Amu replied, "Gomenasai. It's just that her fortunes are never wrong so…" the mood wasn't getting lighter so she asked, "Are you a musician?"

He smiled and replied, "Yup. But I don't do shows for free so keep dreaming."

Amu had a vein throbbing as she thought, _'This guy is so cocky.' _"Who'd want to listen to you play anyway?!"

The white haired man replied, "A couple of babes here and there. But my music is too loud for kids like you. Grow up first and maybe I'll reconsider."

Amu said dryly, "Shut up. You're the one who should grow up. Wearing clothes like that, acting like a punk, are you and idiot?"

The white haired man laughed, "I haven't heard that word for years! Thanks little miss. And I think you're an idiot too."

Amu sweatdropped as she thought, _'This guy's weird. I don't get him at all.'_ But as she saw his natural smile, she realized that he didn't look like the bad guy she thought he was. _'Maybe Su is right. He doesn't look like a villain.' _"I'm Amu. What's your name?"

The white haired man replied as he turned on the radio, "Dante."

The radio began playing a good jazz song that fit the mood during their drive, especially the opening violin.

Dante said to Amu, "You know this song? It's called, _**Akane Iro Ga Moeru Toki**_ by Scoobie Doo."

Amu replied, "Heeh…I never knew that."

Amu was gaining ground in conversing with him while the Shugo Charas felt the wind in their faces. Su then went in front and faced Amu and Dante. "It's really nice to feel the wind in your face."

Dante then waved his hand at Su and said, "Hey, don't block my rear view mirror. I won't see the cars behind me."

Su apologized and moved to Amu's side until they realized something. Amu then asked, "You can see them?"

Dante replied, "Of course I can see them. What are they?"

Amu was surprised and said, "Heh? You can see them but don't know what they are?"

Ran then said, "We are Shugo Charas! Amu's would be selves. I'm Ran. This is Miki and Su."

The other two greeted him and he nodded. Dante then said, "Three fairies eh? Well that's new. I would be annoyed as hell if they hovered around me like bugs all day."

The Shugo Charas were taken aback. Even more so when Amu muttered, "I know how you feel for some reason."

Ran then went to Amu with tears in her eyes as she said, "Amu-chan! Do you really think that way about us?"

Amu waved her hands in apology as she said, "No! No! I don't think that way!"

"Usotsuki." Miki said. But at that statement, Dante suddenly put on the breaks and stopped the car just before it would collide with the bridge sign that said, closed. The entire highway was being redone so no cars were allowed to pass.

Amu looked at the construction sight and said, "Looks like we have to turn around."

Dante shifted the car into reverse and then turned the car around and took the nearby underpass to his left. Amu then asked, "So where will we go now?"

Dante replied, "That highway is the only way across and if it's closed, we'll have to find another way." Amu nodded and they drove into a different sector of the city that was close to the highway. She looked around and saw various bright signs and a lot of different people. But what made her shiver in fright was that as they drove deeper into this sector, she saw that the signs began to read 'hotel' over many buildings.

Amu asked with haste, "Hey! Where are you taking me?!"

Dante replied, "Relax. We'll bunk a room. Like I said, that highway is the only way across. All other streets lead elsewhere. You're stuck with me tonight."

Amu and her Shugo Charas became pale and frightened at that thought. Soon enough Dante parked the car just in front of a small, three-story hotel. He then picked up his guitar from the back and opened the door for Amu.

Amu waved her hand off and said, "I'll just stay here."

Dante replied as he went in the hotel, "Suit yourself. See ya."

Amu looked around and saw all the suspicious looking people. She then ran after Dante and entered. The hotel lobby was small enough that it also comprised the dining room/bar. It was like a revamped tavern with people of all walks of life in it.

Ran, Miki, and Su clung close to Amu and Miki said, "Amu-chan, I'm scared. Everyone looks dangerous."

Amu replied shakily. "Y-you're not the only one Miki."

The attendant of the hotel said to Dante over the counter, "Welcome back Dante-san. I can see you brought over a girl. I never knew you had that kind of—"

"Hey, is my room still there old man?" said Dante, before the old attendant could finish his sentence.

The attendant replied as he handed over the key, "Yes. It's there. Need anything else?" the attendant eyed Amu before eyeing Dante again.

Dante just turned around and said to Amu, "Let's go to our room. You stink like hell."

Amu replied, "No way. I'm headed home! I'm not staying her anymore."

Dante replied, "You're making a scene and it's making us look bad."

Amu looked around and saw that people were whispering all sorts of things. Some were loud enough to be heard like, "How old is that girl? Is he really planning on something?" or like, "She's pretty cute. I hope she leaves him."

Ran then said to Amu, "It doesn't look like we have much of a choice Amu-chan."

Amu swallowed hard and followed Dante to his room. They walked up to the third floor and entered the small room. It was like a regular hotel room having a single bed with a nightstand and a couch by the door as the added furniture. What was good about this certain room was that there was a bathroom behind a door, on the wall opposite the bed. Dante placed his guitar by the couch and said, "I'm gonna order some pizza. You want anything? But you'll pay your own though."

Amu replied, "No thanks. I'm fine." With that Dante left the room leaving a nervous Amu who sat on the bed and said as a blush adorned her face, "This is bad. I'm alone with a guy I just met and I'm in a hotel!"

Ran didn't know what to say at this point as did Su. Miki on the other hand replied, "He hasn't made a move yet Amu-chan. But if he does, just imagine he's Ikuto or Tadase."

Amu then threw a pillow at Miki and said, "That doesn't help at all! And why are you so out of character today?"

Miki fumbled her way out of the pillow and said, "Anyway, Amu-chan, what about your family? They must be worried about you."

Amu understood and went to look for a phone in the room. Luckily, it was on the same dresser where the nightstand stood. She quickly called home and the phone picked up rather quickly.

"Hello, Okaa-san?" Amu asked. She heard her worried mother and replied, "I'm fine. I had to sleep over in a friend's house since she is also studying on the same thing. I'll be there by morning. Oyasumi." With that she put down the phone and said, "This is getting really tiring. But I can't tell her I'm with a guy who I just met and in a hotel with him."

Dante suddenly entered the room carrying a pizza box in his left hand while eating a slice of pizza with his right. He said after he swallowed a bite, "You know, this pizza would taste better if something didn't stink here. And it sure isn't me."

Amu smelled herself and then pointed at Dante and said, "Ahh! You made me do that on purpose!"

Dante sat on the couch in a lazy manner and said, "Funny. I wasn't implying anything. You did that yourself. Don't fall into garbage bins next time. It's not a good beauty product if you ask me."

Amu grunted and threw a pillow at him and said, "Fine! I will you jerk!"

She then marched off to the bathroom and slammed the door shut leaving her Shugo Charas with Dante who was busy eating pizza. The Shugo Charas then flew to Dante who gave them a slice. They happily ate the pizza while a fuming Amu tried to cool off in the shower. She then thought, _'That guy really irritates me. He's cocky, cracks all sorts of insults, who does he think he is anyway?! Even if he did save me from those thugs…'_

She then paused that train of thought as she remembered something. _'Chotto matte. This is like a scene from a soap opera that okaa-san watches. That's right! A couple together at night and then they go into a hotel where they share the same room and the girl takes a bath first…'_

Now Amu becomes flustered and then she shakes her head and says, "Don't think that way Amu. Get a hold of yourself!" she then slaps her cheeks and finishes her bath. Unfortunately, she didn't have any other extra clothes and so she was forced to wear her regular uniform again which was still dirty. When she came out, Dante left the pizza box on her bed so he could stretch his legs on the couch and sleep.

Su then put a finger on her mouth and said, "Shhhh. He's asleep. He left half of the pizza to you."

Amu then looked at the box and saw that there was indeed half a pizza inside. She thought as she took a slice, _'He can be really thoughtful at times. I was wrong about him.'_

After she finished eating her pizza, she looked at her Shugo Charas and said, "It looks like I won't be able to finish that essay after all."

Ran said, "It's alright Amu-chan. We did get the adventure of a lifetime though."

Amu replied, "Not really. This is nothing compared to when Easter tries to harvest the eggs of the heart."

Miki then noticed that Dante's guitar case was unlocked and slightly opened.

Amu then said, "I can't seem to sleep yet even though I'm tired." She then got up and walked to the door. Ran asked her, "Where are you going?"

Amu replied, "Downstairs. I need to clear my head a bit."

Amu went downstairs into the bar/dining room. She hid behind the stairwell and peeped into the bar and saw all sorts of characters there. Most looked like ruffians while some women in scandalous clothing were waiting on the tables there. She looked and said to herself, "Maybe going downstairs wasn't such a good idea." But as she looked, she noticed that one ruffian looked familiar. In fact, it was the thief that stole her bag. She saw her bag on his table and that he was with two other guys in black business suits.

Amu didn't know how much of her things were still in that bag but she knew that she had to get it back. She then walked over to his table and said to the thief, "Hey, give me back my bag!"

The thief looked away and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

She then pointed at her bag and said, "That's my bag. You stole it from me over an hour ago! Give it back!"

The ruffian said, "You're mistaken missy. This is my bag."

Amu frowned and said, "I see. Then your name must be Hinamori Amu since the sticker inside the flap has a name on it."

One of the guys in suits on that table opened the bag and saw the sticker with the name Hinamori Amu on it. Only the owner would know something like that.

The thief replied with annoyance, "Okay you caught me! So now what? Are you gonna turn me in?"

She said, "Yes I will! Everyone here knows you're a thief. I'm calling the pol—" but then she saw that the two men in business suits had their wallets on the table and that they had police badges on them. When she looked around, nobody seemed to care. In fact some were smiling at her in a way that said 'bring it on'. It wasn't a pleasant sight. She didn't expect this at all. Even if she had the evidence, she was outnumbered.

One of the men in a business suit then removed the sticker from the bag and said, "Accusing an innocent man of a crime is an embarrassment. But accusing an officer is something else."

The second man in a business suit stood up and said as he towered over Amu, You've made a big mistake little girl. That's a felony."

Amu backed away a little and said, "That's not true."

Suddenly, both corrupt cops were now in front of her, with ill intent. Amu was being pressured until Dante suddenly stepped in front of her and said, "What is this, the pedophile club? Ganging up on a little girl is for sissies and sick bastards. Now I don't know about you but I wanna talk with the guy behind you old farts."

The corrupt cops tried to attack him but were both grabbed by the collar and had their heads smashed together, courtesy of Dante.

"Thank you." Dante said as he walked to the thief. The thief didn't flinch as Dante flipped the chair so that he could lean on the backrest with his arms and rest his chin on it.

The thief said with a hoarse voice, "Do you like to play games? Here's a game for you. What has bruises, and a face that looks like an ass?"

Dante replied, "Have you looked in a mirror? Cause I think I'm seeing it right now."

The thief quickly pulled out a Nagant revolver from his worn out green jacket and aimed it at Dante. Amu covered her mouth when she saw the drawn weapon. The thief didn't hesitate and squeezed the trigger. Dante fell back to the floor and Amu screamed her little heart out.

The thief then stood up and said, "One shot, one kill. Serves you right you punk."

But to everyone's surprise, Dante made a Chinese getup and pulled out from his coat, Ebony and Ivory and aimed them at the thief while a bullet was caught in between his teeth. The thief backed away with wide-eyed amazement as did everyone in that room. Dante spat the bullet at the thief and said, "I believe that's yours. Now here's a game for you. What's leaving behind a stolen bag and running faster than a Ferrari?"

The man fired his gun again, and again…and again…and again. Obviously, he forgot to reload his gun and was short five bullets. He dropped the gun and ran for his life outside the hotel. Dante then kicked up the revolver then swiveled his guns like a gun from the Old West before holstering them back in his jacket and catching the empty revolver with his right hand. He then picked up Amu's bag and handed it to her and said, "Next time watch where you put your stuff. It could get lost you know?"

Amu took the bag and nodded. Dante said, "Alright folks, shows over. No autographs please." And he walked back up to his room. Amu tailed him like a lost puppy while hugging her bag like it was her own baby. Before Dante could enter his room, Amu asked him, "Dante…who are you?"

Dante holstered the revolver, opened the door and walked in. Amu followed shortly and saw the guitar case on the floor. But what was unusual was that there was no guitar. Rather, inside of it was a tall broadsword with a skeleton like hilt. The Shugo Charas were trying to close the guitar case until both Dante and Amu walked in.

The Shugo Charas stopped what they were doing and Miki said, "It's not what it looks like! We were just trying to put it back!"

Amu then asked as Dante closed the guitar case, "Please answer me! You catch a bullet in between you teeth, beat up people faster than they can blink and carry two guns and a really large sword. Tell me, who are you Dante?!"

Dante replied as he lied down on the couch, "Just your everyday guy."

Amu was frustrated that he wasn't answering her directly. "Dante! Who—"

"I'm just your everyday guy…" Dante cut in. "Trust me. The truth is scarier than it seems. As long as we keep identities low we have no problems." Dante then went back to sleep and Amu swallowed hard and thought about her next words. _'He's not telling me anything at all. But with all that stuff that just happened…'_

Amu's Shugo Charas then flew to Amu in fright of the unknown that is Dante. Ran then said, "Amu-chan! I'm really scared. That sword…"

Amu hugged them alongside her bag and said, "D-daijobu. We'll get out of this."

Su then noticed the bag and said, "Amu-chan, you have your bag again."

Amu replied, "Hai. The thief was downstairs and Dante-san saved me and got it back for me."

Miki then replied, "Amu-chan, that other stuff you said…is it possible that Dante-san is an…(gulp)…assassin?"

Amu replied, "He has to be. It all makes sense now. The clothes, the way he fights, the stuff he carries and this place....if this goes on, he might kill me if I become a problem just like in the movies!"

Ran replied to a frightened Amu, "But he saved you and got your bag back. I don't think he'll do that if he was an assassin."

"Hey…" Dante asked causing Amu to stand up straight in fright. He then continued, "Can you close the door?" Amu did as she was told very quickly. Dante then asked again, "Why did you go head to head with that guy awhile ago?"

Amu replied, "I have an essay to finish for tomorrow but the book I needed for it was in my bag."

Su replied, "You mean the book you accidentally stole."

Amu then shoved Su in her bag and said, "I didn't steal anything."

Dante chuckled and said, "Not bad for a first job. Need someone to sell it for you?"

Amu replied, "How many times…forget it." She paused for a moment to sit on top of the bed alongside her Shugo Charas. She then said, "I ended up staying in the library for too long and got locked in. We managed to escape but, the book was inside my bag and then that guy stole it. After that, I decided to go home. That was when those guys came along and then here we are."

Dante replied, "Well that's interesting. Never had that problem. So what's the book all about?"

Amu replied, "It's about demons."

Though he didn't look like it, he was curious of the book. Dante then said, "Really? What's the title?"

Amu replied, "_**Legenda di Sparda**_. It talks about a demon named Sparda who betrays a demon named Mundus to stop him and save the humans from them. But in doing so, his power gets sealed in the demon world in his sword."

Danted asked, "That's it?"

Amu thought and then replied, "Well, it also says that he was also sealed in that world. But during his stay here on earth, he had two sons and gave two swords to them and an amulet to each of them because they were the keys to sealing and releasing the gate to the demon world. I don't know anything more than that because I felt sick reading the rest."

But when she looked in Dante's now interested eyes, she said, "You know, you look just like him in the book." She then took out the book and turned it to the page of the drawing of Sparda and showed it to Dante.

Dante recognized the book and said, "Hey, get rid of that thing now!"

Amu was confused until a spear made of demonic flesh shot out of the book, heading straight for Dante. He held it the before it could reach him. Amu let go of the book when she saw that happen and a demon that looked like a cross between a bear and a lizard came out, holding the spear that should've pierced Dante. The demon then put in all it's might and shoved Dante through the wall.

"Dante!" Amu screamed until the demon then turned to her. Soon two more demons came out of the book and were of the same type as the first. Amu was scared to death. When the demons came rushing at her, Ran then activated her special ability and Amu leaped over them and ran downstairs in a flash with her Shugo Charas in tow. But the moment she was down the stairs, so were the demons. And now there were ten of them in total. One, killed the old attendant in front of her eyes. She ran screaming into the dining room where few people were in but they too fell prey to the demons. They didn't stand a chance and were easily rounded up and slaughtered by claws, teeth and spears.

Amu was surrounded and scared. She thought this had to be a nightmare. And what was worse was that she was feeling weak again and she fell to her knees.

"Amu-chan!" Miki exclaimed. Amu held her heart and said, "It's happening again. I'm feeling weak every time I do a chara change. What's happening?"

Su then said, "Now is not the time to faint Amu-chan! We'll get eaten if this goes on."

Amu looked at the disgusting demons around her and was extremely terrified the fact that she was surrounded made things worse. She then thought, _'This isn't real. Demons should not exist. This isn't happening. This can't be happening.' Someone save me…Otou-san, Okaa-san, Tadase-kun, Rima, Nagihiko, Yaya, Utau-chan, Ikuto…Dante!'_

Suddenly five of the demons were kicked into the other five as Dante appeared with the Rebellion in his right hand and said, "Now this is a party! Who wants to dance? I'm free for the whole night!"

Amu brightened up as Dante threw her the empty revolver from earlier. He then said, "Hey, it's loaded. All you have to do is pull down that little hammer in the back of the gun then aim and fire."

Amu held the gun shakily and said, "But what if I shoot you by accident?"

Dante replied, "No problem. Just make sure if you do, it hits one of these guys when the bullet goes through me." he then placed Rebellion to rest on his right shoulder and said, "Ten of you, one of me. I like the odds of that. Let's rock!" he then rushed towards a charging demon and thrust his sword into it before stabbing the sword downward, pinning the demon to the floor. He then pulled out Ebony and Ivory and fired it at the other nine surrounding demons. The continuous fire held them off until he placed Ebony in between his teeth(the sliding frame side. Not the barrel) and then pick up the sword from the ground with his left hand. The demon on the ground tried to get up only for Dante to swing him upwards with his sword. He then gave continuous fire with Ivory to its airborne form as two demons attacked him from the front. Before their spears could reach, Dante then gave them a Million stabs with his left hand while still pumping lead to the airborne demon. Dante finished the million stab combo with a single powerful thrust, killing both demons or what was left of them. He then stopped the continuous fire and allowed the demon to fall only for Dante to give it a pop shredder, ending its life.

The blood sprayed everywhere and Amu saw everything with wide-eyed disbelief. Dante was holding his own. Or rather, killing them stylishly. The remaining six were a bit cautious and pranced around Dante. Of course, the son of Sparda wasn't going to stand still. He stabbed the sword in the ground and holstered his guns. The demons attacked all at once only for Dante to duck, pick up his sword from the ground with his right hand and then leap into the air and give a downward slicing attack to a demon below, killing it instantly. The other five couldn't react in time when Dante, made a quick dash to them and made several, inhumanly quick, slicking attacks to them before bursting out into a million stab combo that tore them to shreds except for one to his left that fell from the rapid blows. The other four however were caught and Dante finished the combo execution by a powerful thrust while saying, "Breakdown!" three demons were just splatters of blood while the fourth was thrust into the wall nearest Amu and _became_ a splatter of blood that painted the wall.

Dante then holstered the unstained steel on his back and said, "That was fun."

Suddenly the last demon got up from the ground to impale him. Amu's adrenaline went into action and with both hands held on the gun, she quickly took aim and opened fire on the demon, finally killing it.

Dante looked behind to see the dead demon and said, "Well whaddya know? You didn't hit me." he then faced the panting Amu and saw her shaking form. She was unused to such a weapon and the recoil alone nearly broke her wrists or at the very least, flew over her head. And don't get started on the deafening sound of the gunshot. He then said to her, "Not bad for a first try." He turned and walked towards the stairs and said, "We better bring back that book to wherever it came from and send these gatecrashers back to their masters."

Amu followed very closely while her Shugo Charas did not know how to calm her frightened and shaking form as indicated by the way her hands shook while holding the revolver. She looked very nervous and yelled out to Dante, "What's going on?!"

Dante stopped for a moment and said, "Those things you just saw were demons. That book you brought with you is possessed. Good news is…we get it back to where it belongs, no more nightmares. The bad news though, it drains your soul the longer its out of its real place. And we don't want to know what happens if it drains your soul completely."

Amu paled in realization of what she had done. Now wasn't the best time to think of the consequences yet everything was happening too fast for her to comprehend and take in as real.

Dante continued up the stairs to the second floor where a new set of demons were tearing away at several guests and filling the hallway. And since the stairs was at the right wing end of the room, he had a clear view of the carnage to his front as the moonlight from the window at the end of the hall highlighted the massacre.

There were at least fifteen of the demons and looked uglier than the last. They had the heads of a snake and the body of a misshapen and hairy gorilla's skeleton with a morning star on the ends of their long tails.

Dante's bright clothes caught their attention and growled at him with a slight hissing sound. Amu witnessed the sight of the hallway and saw something straight out of resident evil. Ran then commented with tears, "This is horrible…"

Miki nodded and shouted, "Dante! Please save them!"

Su replied, "It's far too late."

Dante pulled out his trademark guns and said as he aimed, "I'm fine with house parties but killing the guests is not in my list." He then fired and fired a barrage of bullets. The demons charged only to hover to their deaths from the wall of bullets that juggled them.

Dante walked as he fired them. Eventually, the demons that entered the rooms of the guests came out only for Dante to switch his fire to them, Equilibrium style as he passed by. Amu stayed by the stairs and watched everything with horror. As she looked, she noticed that one room was locked and didn't seem to have been broken in. And to confirm her suspicion, she heard someone screaming for help from the room that was at the end of hallway. Amidst the gunfire she screamed to Dante, "Dante! There are people in that room! They're still alive!" Dante stopped firing for a moment and said, "Which one?"

Amu replied, "Room 225!" Dante nodded as a demon flailed his tail at the white haired slayer who made a backflip to avoid the attack and landed on top of a demon that was barely alive. He then used the demon as a skateboard, and spun him while moving towards room 225. It was like a pinball in a pinball machine except Dante was killing them with his guns while spinning on his makeshift ride before lifting him off the ground, allowing the demon to fly out the window and Dante to be in the right position to fire both guns at the demon, turning it into swiss cheese.

"Anyone, help!" cried a voice from room 225. The door was locked and barricaded from the way it stuck to the doorway. Amu quickly rushed to the door and said, "Is anyone there still alive?!"

Dante holstered his guns until he saw a new set of demons coming from the stairs leading to the third floor.(The stairs is the same one where they started) He brought out Rebellion and said to Amu, "I'll take care of the stoners here if you don't mind."

Amu shouted at him, "But who's going to protect them from those things?!"

Dante replied as he walked towards a new set of demons, "Well, you've got a gun. Might as well use it and overcome your fears."

Amu then banged on the door of room 225 and said, "I-It's okay. We-we'll get you out here."

The door creaked open and Amu saw a long, brown haired woman in a white, long sleeved polo with brown vest and blue jeans, shivering in fear. Amu was barely holding on and wanted so much to run away at this point but with so many demons around, she'd bound to be killed before she could make it to the exit. It was like she was sucked into a horror movie and couldn't get out. Amu said to the scared woman, "We have to get out of here."

The woman didn't bother to hesitate and stood up carrying a video camera in hand and her sling bag, which was half full. She stuck close to Amu and saw the gun in the child's hand. She said to Amu, "Do you know how to even use that?!" The woman then took the gun from Amu's hand and quickly noticed the empty rounds. She then used the ejector rod of the gun and pushed out the empty casings as quickly as possible until she realized that there was only one bullet left that wasn't used. She then cocked the gun and ran out as quickly as possible, leaving Amu behind.

Amu shouted as she chased her, "Wait! Don't go there!" but the woman didn't listen and ran towards the stairs where Dante was facing off against six demons with a steel skeleton outer covering and flesh muscles showing underneath it. They were like an inverted humans with horns. Dante swung his sword down on one and cleaved it in half while the other five attempted to attack, only for Dante to jump back and quickly change his equipped weapons to Ebony and Ivory. He aimed at the demons but couldn't fire when he saw the frightened woman armed with the Nagant revolver, run towards the stairs. Dante quickly dropped his guns and ran in front of the woman to parry several speedy, but powerful haymakers of the five remaining demons with speed and accuracy. The woman fell back and dropped the revolver. In fright of the demons, she crawled back while gasping as the demons, in their rage, charged to attack Dante. The white haired man waited for just the right moment and suddenly released a burst of utter power and speedy strikes as he passed through the demons. They were obliterated…literally.

Amu ran towards them and stopped to see the back of the man who saved their lives. She then thought, _'Who is he? He's not human.'_

Dante then walked over to where he dropped his guns and kicked them up for his hands to grab and holster it in his coat. He then picked up the woman and said, "Sorry about that lady but you're gonna have to wait your turn before you can take the ride out of here. These things won't cut us some slack." He then said to Amu, "We better go get it."

Amu nodded and picked up the revolver from the ground, and ran after Dante to head upstairs into the third floor. All the while the woman that was left there, didn't realize that her camera was on record so everything that the camera caught was fully recorded, including Dante's brilliant maneuver. The woman then got up and looked at her camera and finally realized that it was active. She quickly picked up her bag and thought, _'This is insane! But at least I won't look like fool when I bring this recording back to the studio.'_

She then faced the camera to show her petite face and long brown hair and said to it, "I, Yamaoka Miharu, am witnessing an incredible event tonight. Here, in the very hotel I'm staying, a man in a red trenchcoat and a girl in a school uniform, fighting creatures like you've never seen before! If I don't make it out alive, then this recording will be proof that I was here to see this hell and the two people who are fighting it." She hastily ran up to the third floor to film her so called, final words.

When she got there, she saw that the floorway was giving out and the walls and several places in the ceiling had fallen apart. It was like a maze and things weren't looking too good. Amu was somehow on the other side of the hallway where the floor was stable while Dante was still on the side near the stairs where he had just killed another demon. This one however had four wings on its chicken feet like legs though it had the body of a shaved cat. It was really hard to distinguish since it was badly mutilated.

Amu hollered out to Dante, "What do we do now?"

Dante then looked at the obstacles before him and said, "No problem." He ran towards Amu and stayed on the left side of the hallway. There was a gap between him so he suddenly ran on the wall before leaping off it and landing on a small, cement ledge that was about to fall apart. He then jumped to the other side and landed on the wall there before suddenly running vertically and leaping off it to land on a piece of broken pipe that led to the ledge of the safe spot where Amu was. He slid on that pipe before jumping of the edge to land where Amu was but the distance was far too great and both Amu and Miharu knew it. But Dante, being Dante, had another trick up his sleeve. Suddenly, a temporary magic circle appeared underneath his feet. He quickly jumped off it in a summersault fashion before at the end of his spin, he suddenly kicked himself forward from another temporary magic circle and landed behind Amu where another of the cat like demons awaited him only to be blasted by a quick draw shot from Dante's Ivory, using his right hand.

Amu did not know how on earth he was doing all this but it certainly raised a lot of questions that she was gearing to find out. Unfortunately, so was the woman named Miharu, who filmed the whole thing on her camera, despite her terrified state. After all, it was a do or die situation.

Amu stayed closely behind Dante but her vision was fading fast. She suddenly fell to her knees and Su went to Amu and said, "Please don't use chara change anymore Amu-chan. You're getting exhausted even more."

Amu panted hard and found it hard to breath. The smell of gunpowder was in the air and the smell of dust made things much '_easier'_ for her. Dante managed to shoot down the demon in a barrage of gunfire before kneeling down to Amu's level and telling her, "Hey, you're not doing to well. Don't use your powers if you know that you're getting drained that easily." He then took Amu over his shoulders, despite her complaints, and ran into the room where the book was. He then gently dropped her by the door and said, "Take it easy. I'll cover things from here."

Amu wasn't too sure about what to do but suddenly felt her heart physically give way. She slumped to the floor while her Shugo Charas tried to find out what was wrong but felt roughly the same and fell to the floor in chest pains.

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Dante burst into the room and saw the book, rooted to the ground by several veins coming from inside its pages with an eye in the middle. But that wasn't all. There was a hell vanguard guarding it as well. Dante didn't waste any time and pulled out Rebellion and gave it a Stinger attack to momentarily shove it aside before stabbing the sword into the eye. The wounded eye gurgled blood and the hell vanguard was sucked back in along with the eye and the veins. Dante pulled out his sword, closed the book and tore a piece of the bed sheet and wrapped the book in it before finally tying it up. The amount of demonic power in the book managed to seep out and turn the bed sheet wrapping into the color black.

Dante holstered his sword and picked up the book but strangely, the book dropped something. It dropped a huge red statue with an ugly face, a large green star with an ugly face, a purple statue with an ugly face, and a blue statue with an ugly face. Dante is VERY familiar with these objects and he knows for a fact that they are more helpful than they looked. He picked them up with his right hand and held the book with his left.

He quickly ran back out of the room to where Amu was seated, leaning by the doorframe with her Shugo Charas lying down on the floor. Amu's breathing was getting shallow and it looked like she was going blind. She struggled to breath properly and her Shugo Charas weren't faring well either. All in all, she was showing the symptoms of dying and it was a miracle that someone of her size and age was able to hold on this long from the draining effects of the book. Moreso, that she even used her abilities more than once. Dante then dropped the book beside her and shook her shoulder with his left hand and said, "I'm not going to let you die. You've got a life ahead of you and you're going to live."

Amu still held the revolver in her right hand and Dante then picked out the green star and put it in her left hand. Amu gripped it by reflex and Dante help her magically push the star into her chest where it melded with her. Once the star was absorbed into her, she was brought back to life as the light shone in her eyes again and her Shugo Charas were alive and well.

"We're alive!" Ran yelled in elation.

But Dante wasn't finished yet. He then said to Amu, "Amu, listen to me." Amu listened and Dante said with seriousness, "We have to get the book back to save your life. I want you to fuse these things into you. It will give enough strength to save you in time to get that book back. Do you trust me?"

Amu was about to nod until she saw the statues that Dante was talking about. She became pale and said with disgust, "No way am I putting those things in me!" Dante replied, "You don't have a choice. Either you shove it in or I do."

Amu blushed in anger and said, "Dame! hentai bakayaro!"

Suddenly, the book started to shake and Amu held her chest in reaction to the books draining effect. Ran, in fright, said to Amu, "Amu-chan, please do it! I don't want to see you die!"

Amu shook her head and said, "Okay! I'll do it." She then took the blue statue with her left hand and Dante said, "Just put it close to your chest and it'll do its thing." She did as she was told and the blue orb merged with her. She then did the same with the purple orb and finally, the large red one. But when she did so with the red one, suddenly, she felt power coursing through her body.

Amu thought, _'What is this feeling…I feel like I can take on a whole army.' _She then got up and suddenly, her right hand glowed along with the revolver. And in a flash of light, the revolver changed into a different type of gun. It had the grip and frame of a semi-automatic pistol, the same hammer pin and revolver cartridge in between the barrel and the semi-automatic sliding frame, and the barrel of a single action shotgun and under the barrel was a mini version of the cocking mechanism you would find on any automatic shotgun. And on both sides of the barrel, the English word, 'Desolator' was engraved while a red X was engraved on the grip of the gun.

Amu looked at it with surprise and said, "Wha-what happened? Was I holding this the whole time?!"

Dante replied with a smirk, "Guess it likes you. You've got yourself a new toy."

Su then looked at it and said, "Desolator-san must really like Amu-chan a lot."

Miki said in repetition, "Desolator-san?"

Su nodded and replied, "Hai. He never left Amu-chan's side and protected her with his life. Amu-chan, you must thank him later."

Amu looked at the weird gun and said, "I really don't like this though. It doesn't suit my character." She then faced them and shouted, "And why do I have to carry such a weird thing in the first place!"

Ran looked at the odd weapon and said, "Amu-chan…I…really don't know what to say."

Amu was shocked that Ran was acting this way. She never expected this to happen above all the other things around her. Amu was uncertain of everything around her as things just happened and she was swept up in its current. Su went over to Amu and said, "Amu-chan…What do you want to do now?"

Amu replied with a little haste, "Go home of course. But I can't because if I don't bring back that book…I might die."

Su replied with a gentle voice, "We all want to go home and be safe Amu-chan. Even Desolator-san wants that." Amu was touched and shocked by what Su was telling her. Su continued, "That's why Desolator-san is protecting you. So you must trust him as well."

Amu thought about what she had to do. She wasn't given much of a choice. These things greatly terrified her but at this point, crying would just do nothing to help. She had nothing else to lose and her life was the price to pay for inaction. She then looked at the gun and said, "I guess I can trust you a little."

The gun's sliding frame suddenly self cocked and the safety set itself to safe mode. Amu was surprised by what the gun did and Ran replied, "I think he's happy."

Dante quickly took the book and said, "We don't have much time to spare. Let's take the fast way out."

Amu said to him, "I'm not going anywhere! What's happening? What is all this? And who are you?!."

Dante quickly said, "You picked up the book so you should bring it back. Otherwise, the book would be back but you'll die anyway because you didn't cancel your contract with it.

Amu shook her head in dismay and said, "Nononono!!!!!"

Dante picked her up anyway despite her protests and ran out the window of their former room and landed just in front of the car. Amu was flailing about trying to get out. She was extremely afraid and utterly confused.

Dante quickly tossed her in the car, strapped her down to her seat with the seatbelt and then sat in his and turned on the engine. He turned up the radio and drove as fast as he could to the Library.

As he drove, he noticed the Shugo Charas attempting to tail the car. He completely forgot that they were part of Amu's life. He slowed down a bit to allow them to enter the car. They sat beside Amu and Miki complained, "You left us!"

Dante replied, "Sorry about that. I get preoccupied when I'm having fun."

Amu angrily shouted at him, "YOU WERE HAVING FUN?!"

Dante didn't bother to reply. Amu wasn't in the best of conditions so arguing would have to wait. Ran noticed the tense atmosphere and said, "Lets put on some music to calm down." She then flew to the radio and turned the knob. The first music that came out was _**Inside the Fire**_. This made Amu even more nervous and Miki then turned the knob while saying, "Don't make Amu-chan even more scared!" but what came when she changed frequency was the song _**Dance with the Devil**_. Su then butted in and said as she turned the knob, "Let's change it to my favorite station."

Ran and Miki asked, "You have a favorite station?"

Su replied, "I love to listen to music while I clean the house or cook." She then turned the knob to her favorite station but the song that came out wailed, "_**Waking the Demon!**_"

Ran and Miki looked petrified as Su turned off the radio and said, "But it plays nice music during the morning. How come now?"

Dante noticed the library up ahead and said, "This is it. And we've got a welcome wagon."

Amu saw that the Library was utterly distorted and perverted. The once, smooth walls and windows were wrapped and pierced by fleshy looking substances and several horns. The doors, now mangled with red web and the tower, infested by a waterfall of blood.

She vomited on the road when she saw it. It was utterly disgusting. And she was now even more frightened than ever. Dante said offhandedly, "It got even prettier than last time. Whoever built this place has issues." He then parked just in front of the grotesque building and said to Amu, "Let's go."

Amu said to him, "No!"

Dante replied, "But if you don't, you're going to die."

Amu shouted at him in hysteria, "I'd rather die than go in there!"

Dante got out of the car and said while facing her, "What's wrong now?"

Amu yelled in anger and sadness, "What's wrong?! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY?!! I've had the worst night and I don't want to go through all that again?! Do you even have a heart?!" she then sobbed and sat in the fetal position. Things were very traumatic for Amu and she was losing her sanity.

Dante didn't know how to deal with this. She's lost it completely at such a young age and in order to save her life, Dante had to drag her in to put back the book or else she would die.

Dante bowed his head in sorrow. He couldn't save her like this. He then said to her, "Putting that book back won't just save your life. It'll also save everyone else's because it's the lock to the gateway of the demon world." Amu still was crying in fear. Dante continued anyway despite her state. "But you know what? Forget it. If I can't save a kid's life, then the whole world is doomed anyway."

He then walked towards the building and said without looking, "I bet if I kill enough of them, you'd be fine afterwards so sit tight there and don't drive off!" He then stood in front of the unwebbed entrance and pushed the door open and went in, closing the door behind him.

Amu waited patiently but heard the various sounds of gunfire, metal clashing and flesh torn to shreds coming from the library. She closed her eyes and put her hands on her ears. She wasn't comfortable at all and wished that everything she had just witnessed was a dream. But the cold sensation of the Desolator in her right hand told her otherwise. She looked at the weapon and threw it out of the car, allowing it to fall and bounce a little ways on the cement floor.

"Amu-chan…" replied Ran, in understanding.

Amu thought to herself, _'I'm so scared. This all happened after I met…' _Her eyes widened before she settled into a frown. _'That's right. This all happened after I met Dante. The fortune came true.'_

Amu thought about what she had to do and then opened the door of the car and walked out of it.

Miki asked with concern, "Where are you going?"

Amu replied, "Let's go home. The longer we stay with Dante, the longer we will get dragged into all this mess."

Ran said with concern, "But what about Dante?"

Amu said as she ran off, "He can take care of himself!"

Su flew off in front of Amu and said, "So you're going to leave him when he's trying to save you?"

Amu suddenly felt a strong pain in her heart and she stopped and fell on her hands and knees. "What's wrong? I didn't chara change at all." Miki looked back and saw the wrapped book, hovering above the car. It was shaking furiously in mid air with an evil, black glow around it. Miki noticed it and said, "The book knows that Amu-chan is trying to get away!"

Amu replied begrudgingly, "Why can't I get away? This is so frustrating. Even the book doesn't want me to go." Su looked at the book and said, "Please, let Amu-chan go! She's suffering and Dante-san is also suffering trying to save her. Please, I'm begging you!"

But the book refused to listen. Ran then went to the book and pleaded, "Please let her go! Amu-chan has done nothing wrong to you!" Miki then went and pleaded as well. "Please! Leave us alone! Many people have already died and Dante-san is risking his life for us!"

Amu heard their pleas and remembered what happened in the hotel. She thought as she saw the demons tearing them apart, _'They all died because of me.' _She saw the bloodshed clearly in her mind and thought, _'They died…for no reason.' _She then remembered Dante and how he fought the demons and stood in front of that woman. _'But Dante fought to protect them when he saw that he could.' _She remembered how Dante stood up for her and eventually saved her from the demons that tried to kill her. _'He's constantly protecting me and he's risking his life for me. Why?'_ She then remembered what Dante just said.

_Flashback_

_Dante bowed his head in sorrow. He couldn't save her like this. He then said to her, "Putting that book back won't just save your life. It'll also save everyone else's because it's the lock to the gateway of the demon world." Amu still was crying in fear. Dante continued anyway despite her state. "But you know what? Forget it. If I can't save a kid's life, then the whole world is doomed anyway."_

_He then walked towards the building and said without looking, "I bet if I kill enough of them, you'd be fine afterwards so sit tight there and don't drive off!" He then stood in front of the unwebbed entrance and pushed the door open and went in, closing the door behind him._

_End of Flashback_

Amu then crawled back to where her Shugo Charas were pleading and found the pain in her chest is gone and so she stood up and said, "It's enough already. I know what to do."

Her Shugo Charas turned around and faced Amu while the book ceased to shake. Amu replied with a determined heart, "I can't leave things like this. Many people died because of that book and I'm dying also." The Shugo Charas listened with an open heart as Amu sharply, waved her right hand to the side and said, "I won't let it end like this! Nobody has to suffer like this! No one!" She then looked to the side and saw the Desolator. She then ran to it and quickly picked it up and aimed it at the book with two hands.

Amu then said, "I'll finish this for good!" she pulled the trigger and the gun fired a bullet through the book. Amu panted as the book harmlessly fell to the car seat with a hole through it. But as soon as it was shot, the book suddenly revived and floated in the air. But this time, it unwrapped itself completely from its coverings. In fact, it used the coverings to grab a hold of the car. The Shugo Charas then went to Amu's side as black, weeping souls traveled from the book, down the cloth and into the car. The car suddenly broke apart and weaved around the book and formed a grotesque demon of machine and flesh. It had a boxy frame that reminded Amu too much of an old robot TV show except there was flesh, holding the metal together and veins, acting as the wires to hold them even tighter. Its arms were unique in that the left arm was a makeshift chainsaw with a flamethrower of some sort. The right hand had a heavy machine gun and a portion of the car engine to use as a mace if anyone came close. Its legs looks to be made from an unseen portion of the car and the wheels, held together by muscles and some machine parts. But the worst part of it was the head. it looked like an alien's with several parts of the headlights as the eyes and a glass mouth with teeth, formed from the remaining metal.(If you've seen the Dreadnoughts of the Chaos Space Marines, then it roughly looks like it. There's just fifty percent more flesh in it…and demonic power.)

Amu couldn't see the book anywhere. The only thing that she recognized from the car demon was the radio, on the crotch area. The radio suddenly came to life and an eerie voice said, "**I am Machina. I will take your life and your soul!**" the radio then switched frequency and the song, _**Taste the Blood **_began playing as the car demon aimed it's right arm at Amu.

Amu said to her Shugo Charas, "That was a really bad idea wasn't it?"

Ran nodded. And the next second, the car demon opened fire and let bullets fly towards Amu. She ran for her life while saying, "I knew it! It was impossible to begin with!"

The car demon kept the continuous fire as it walked towards Amu. She ran for her life and hid behind a nearby dumpster, close to the library.

Ran then said to Amu, "Amu-chan, let's do it!"

Miki said, "But if we do that, Amu-chan will get drained."

Amu heard the car demon roar and made a decision, "Okay, we'll do it. We don't have a choice." She then leaped out of the dumpster and said as the humpty lock around her neck shone, "My Heart, unlock!" at the same instance, she had her two hands in a gun shape with her index fingers pointed at the opposite's thumb and vice versa to form a square shape wit the humpty lock. As she said those words, she flipped her wrists around so that she retained the symbol but with a change of hand positions.(Don't ask. Watch the show to see this part.)

Immediately, she was covered in bright lights of the shades of pink, red, and yellow while her body glowed. Ran then fused into the humpty lock and Amu's clothes changed into that of a pink, cheerleader outfit with red ribbons on her upper arms and a pink visor complete with a red heart clipped on it, parallel to the left eye. But there was something different this time. She was holding the Desolator the whole time so when she changed, her weapon became a part of the transformation. So her regular cheerleading outfit had drastic changes like black stripes and red Xs on the outfit in strategic areas making it look dynamically cooler yet retaining the same spunky look. She then exclaimed after the transformation, "Charanari, Amulet Spirit!" she then noticed the change as she hovered in the air. "Eh? It changed." Suddenly, her gun had a slight shine to it, making Amu notice it and say, "I was holding it while I transformed. Don't tell me you changed my outfit."

"Amu-chan! Watch out!" exclaimed Ran from the humpty lock around her neck. Amu then reflexively looked at where the demon car was and saw it aiming its gun at her. She needed to evade it properly this time. In a flash of light, pink and white roller skates with matching colors of wings at the heels appeared on her feet. They were the heartspeeders. As soon as she had them on, she quickly dashed to the side, avoiding the car demon's machine gun barrage. She maneuvered through the air swiftly and sharply like an expert fighter plane with maximum agility. She knew that she couldn't fight like this and dived down to where the demon car was. When she was about twelve feet away from the demon car, she deftly moved to the car's right side, aimed the semi-automatic gun at the car demon and opened fire. The revolver cartridge spun with each shot while in congruence, the sliding frame slid, allowing the excess gas to escape, not the bullet casings since the gun magically did not need any nor did it look like it would run out. Amu wasn't an expert in combat so her attacks where futile and only irritated the demon at best.

The demon then swung its right arm horizontally to smash Amu who was much quicker and moved to the back of the demon while keeping a twelve feet distance. She fired at its back but was unable to make a definite wound. The car demon then swiveled around its body and fired its machine gun at her while walking backwards. Amu then flew over the car demon's head and then landed about seventeen feet away from it but was still close enough for the demon to quickly take aim and fire at Amu. She then flew up and about and flew towards a nearby building and stood on top of it. She then lifted her left hand up and a pink rod with two hearts on both ends appeared in her hand. "Heart Rod!" she exclaimed before jumping down to were the car demon awaited her. When she was about thirty feet away, she threw the rod and said, "Spiral Heart!" the rod spun in the air and flew towards the demon and hit its head, it made the demon take a step back but really did nothing to it.

Amu was shocked by this. "The Heart Rod didn't work?!" but before she could say anymore, the demon aimed its left hand at Amu and fired, flaming souls towards her. Amu flew out of range but was chased by the flaming souls. She flew hard and fast to avoid them but they just tailed her. She then stopped to face them and aimed her gun at them.

"Do guns work on spirits?" Ran asked.

Amu replied, "It doesn't matter. I don't want them to eat me!" she fired at the spirits and it didn't work. She then flew around to avoid them while saying, "I can't fight these things at all! Nothing works!" she was still frightened after all but now that she couldn't stand a chance, running away seemed to be the best option. She decided to dive down to grab Miki and Su who were still by the library door and take them out of there and get help. But as she dove, suddenly, Desolator took a hold of her right hand and aimed itself at the spirits chasing her. She half yelled, "What are you doing?! It didn't work s—" but the gun self-cocked its shotgun mechanism and fired a blast of pink light that vaporized the spirits. Amu was surprised and said, "What just happened?"

Ran saw this and said, "Amu-chan! Desolator wants to fight with you as well so he's lending his power to you." Amu then looked at the odd gun and nodded when she saw its determination. She then said, "Okay. We'll fight our way out of here." she then faced the demon car that was running towards her with the chainsaw like weapon attached to the left arm, waving wildly. Amu then cocked the shotgun portion of the gun and fired five spread shots at it before diving to the ground and kneeling just fifty feet away from the demon that was now stunned from the five shots earlier. Amu then thought as she aimed the gun properly, _'I understand now. This must be Desolator's power.' _The weird gun was feeding her conscious with knowledge only an experienced gunner would have and was helping her overcome this dark ordeal as it forged its symbiotic relationship with her. She then cocked the sliding frame and aimed the gun with one hand on the now conscious demon that was turning to face her. She thought as she looked down the iron sights, _'It's weakness is in the head, joints and exposed areas of the back. I'll shoot through those areas, and expose the book inside.' _She then stood up and fired it like a machine gun at the demon in those areas. This time, she was aiming the gun properly and actually wounding it. By shooting the fleshy areas, she was able to hurt it rather than just firing recklessly and hoping for it to die. The demon car felt the pain and fired a barrage of gunfire back but since it was still in pain, Amu was able to easily avoid it and then flew above the demon and cock the shotgun portion and give a continuous amount of gunfire down below.

Miki and Su cheered on from the sidelines, "Go Amu-chan! You can beat him!"

The continuous spread shot fire, blasted its way through the armor and tore the flesh of the chest area apart, leaving the metal portions to drop and expose the book in the center. Amu saw this and was about to shoot it until the demon fired several fire spirits at her, forcing her to retreat. She flew back before facing it and aiming her gun at them. The gun glowed in a pink light before she pulled the trigger and the same pink lights flew towards the fire spirits and vaporized them. Amu then aimed the gun at the joints of the demon and fired, four well-placed shots, disabling the demon's attack capabilities and movement. And to think it was from four hundred feet away!

She then dropped down to the ground just eighty feet away from the disabled demon that stood in the middle of the road, in front of the library. She cocked the shotgun portion of her gun and said, "I'm not going to die!" she cocked the sliding frame and said, "Evil things like you don't have the right to take lives so freely so…" she cocked the hammer pin back and aimed the gun at the book of the screaming demon, "Go back to where you came from!" her gun suddenly glowed pink and pink lights gathered to the barrel. She shifted her stance to a kneeling side stance so that her right hand, which wielded the weapon, was aimed and perfectly aligned to her target. Her right knee was on the ground while her left leg was bent to keep steady and she placed her left hand on her right arm, just above the elbow to keep the gun from swaying to the left side. She looked to her target with eagle eyes and said, "Demonic heart, lock on!" her gun suddenly stopped charging up energy meaning that it was at maximum strength. She then exclaimed before she pulled the trigger, "Soul…SHOT!" with that, the gun fired a powerful, pink energy blast the size of a minicooper at the stationary demon. Though the kick caused her arm to fly into a ninety-degree angle, the demon car, flew into thousands of pieces with the book, completely vaporized. The only thing that was left of the car, was the steering wheel that flew to the library door and hit it with a 'thud' sound. Dante came out of the library and said, "Someone knocked?" he looked and saw Amu there, by the ground, panting hard and saying, "I did it. It's over."

Ran diffused the transformation and said to Amu as Miki and Su flew to them, "We did it Amu-chan! We beat the demon!" Amu said as she stood up, "We did it, didn't we?" Su then exclaimed, "Amu-chan is safe now that the book is gone." Miki nodded in compliance and Dante picked up his steering wheel and said, "Guess you didn't need my help after all." Amu smiled a little until Dante said, "Now that that's taken cared of, who's gonna pay for my car?" Amu sweatdropped and said, "Gomen." Dante threw the steering wheel aside and said, "Looks like I'll have to walk you home. This just gets better and better."

Amu chuckled a little and said, "It looks like we are back where we started." She suddenly fainted from exhaustion and Dante caught her before she could hit the ground. The white haired man said as he picked her up bridal style, "Falling asleep on stage is not cool. I don't even know where you live!"

Su then exclaimed, "I can show you the way!" but Miki and Ran shot her down saying that last time they really got lost when she showed the way. Dante didn't like this one bit and it was close to morning by now so he took her phone from her pocket but realized that it was dead. So he used a bit of his power and charged up the phone till it reactivated. He looked through the directory until he found an address that was close by.

"Jackpot." He said as he closed the phone and tucked it in her pocket.

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Jackpot…it was the last word she heard before she woke up in a beautifully crafted bed with the light of morning shining down on her. Amu sat up and looked around to see she was in a rich girl's room complete with TV and a large window to her left. She was confused because this definitely wasn't her room. She then held her head and said, "Was that all a dream? Then, where am I?" she looked at what she was wearing and realized that she was in red pajamas so she looked around for her clothes and saw her Shugo Charas sleeping on top of an open drawer where clothes were stacked neatly. The drawer was on her right so it wasn't hard to find them. She then looked to her left and saw her clothes, neatly piled on the chair closest to the window along with her bag. She went over to her bag with curiosity and looked inside. But what she found was not just her school things. But also, the same revolver from last night before it turned into its Desolator form. She picked up the gun and said as she sweatdropped, "I-it really happened…" but when she inspected the gun, she noticed a piece of paper, sticking out from the barrel. She pulled it out and read it.

Dear Amu,

I don't write a lot so I'll just summarize things for you. Good job on killing that demon and I brought you to the person closest to where we were last night. Can't remember the name but you're in good hands. They don't know a thing so don't tell them anything. And you still owe me a car. Adios gunslinger girl.

Dante

Amu thought out loud, "Is he serious about the car? And Closest? Where did he take me to?" she heard a knock on the door so she quickly crumpled the note and placed the gun back in her bag and quickly closed it. And just in time because in came Rima and Kusukusu. And it looked like Rima was ready for school.

"How did you sleep?" Rima asked as Kusukusu went to wake the other three Shugo Charas. Amu replied, "I think I need sleep a little more." She yawned and rubbed her eyes, indicating her exhausted state. Amu's Shugo Charas woke up and greeted her good morning. Rima suddenly was in front of Amu and had a serious face on her. Amu backed up a bit while raising her hands up to her chest. The shorter girl asked Amu without reservation, "Where were you Amu?" Amu replied, "I was at the library." Rima suddenly sharpened her eyes as she said, "Liar." Amu was a little scared of her right now and she had every right to be. Rima went on the offensive and asked, "Who was that guy that brought you here last night? He looked suspicious. What did you do!" Amu sweatdropped knowing she wasn't in a good position right now. She said, "Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Rima looked at Amu with stern but concerned eyes. After all, she is her best friend.

Amu saw the concern and said to Rima, "You don't have to worry about me like that. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me last night." _'AHHH!!! That was the scariest night of my life! I nearly died so many times and saw so many demons! I'm never going back there ever again!'_

Rima asked, "Really?" Ran went over to Amu and said, "Yes! We're fine. We're not going to let anything get in the way, right Amu-chan!"

Amu looked at Ran in surprise before Amu half-heartedly said, "Right. You're very optimistic today." Su then went to Amu's side and said, "But now you have to hand in your essay for English today." Amu then crossed her arms and said in a defiant manner, "Who needs that essay anyway? I don't need to waste my time on something that hard."

Miki replied with a smile, "As expected of the Cool and Spicy Amu-chan."

Rima smiled, seeing her old friend back. She decided not to press harder for now and let her be.

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Amu was seated by the tea table of the Royal Garden and at the moment, she was comically dead and muttering several words like 'useless' or 'waste of time' and her personal favorite 'all that for nothing'. Tadase said to her, "Aren't you glad that you didn't need to make the essay anyway?"

Nagihiko said to Tadase, "I don't think Amu-chan can hear you right now."

Yaya came in the royal garden and said, "Ohayoo! I have big news for everyone!"

Rima said as she put down the tea she was drinking on top of the table, "What is it?"

Yaya replied, "Instead of the essay writing contest that was held for the English class of each grade, we're going to have a surprise field trip to the library!"

Amu's ears suddenly enlarged when she heard it. When her brain processed everything, she then promptly disappeared from the table and was running out at breakneck speed while screaming, "You can't make me go back there!!!"

And at the same time, a white bus passed by the school and a certain, white haired man in a red trenchcoat sat by one of the window seats and saw Amu running around the school grounds. He smirked and looked at a piece of paper in his hand and thought, _'Now that the book was taken cared off, it's time to go over to the author and find out why there was that gate there in the library' _Dante crumpled the paper and threw it out the window as he thought, _'…Evangeline Mcdowell…. Looks like I won't be bored again and I'll be able to pay the bills by the end of this job.'_

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So what'dya think?

Barkeep: Holy Crap! What the hell did you do to that girl? And what's with the all powerful author of darkness HUH?!

Like I said, walking in Dante's shoes—

Barkeep: Don't give me that shit! You outta die for writing that script!

(Dante walks in the bar and sits by the counter.)

Dante: The first screening is done but why did I have to use my car?

Can't afford to buy stunt cars. Way too expensive. Relax, you'll pay the bills soon enough. So was it good?

Dante: You are crazier than me and that's saying something. When is the next shoot?

Next chapter of course. I'll see you then. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed this chapter and I get some good feedback. Now, to burn, I mean write the next chapter in this new development.


	2. Secret Mission 02: Demon plus Vampire

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Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

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A/N: This story just has a mind of its own at this point. The plot is different from my first story so don't expect a lot from this aside from action scenes that should entertain you.

Barkeep: You're trying to get readers by letting them down?

Not really. I expect them to expect the unexpected. Like I said earlier, MULTICROSSOVER. That should spell things out for them. Anything can happen in a crossover so you never know what's next. Don't be surprised if Goku turns out to be the Big Bad. And not the Saiyuki version.

Barkeep: WHAT?!!!

Just kidding. That would be unfair to any end. Although it does spark other ideas. Anyway, read at your own risk and enjoy.

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 02: **_Demon+Vampire_

**|02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|**

The white bus drove onward into another part of the city. For a few hours, the bus had kept its pace towards its next destination. At this point, the view was getting boring. Same set of buildings, in an urban area with several students in sailor uniforms heading for their respective schools. Since it was still early morning, it wasn't hard for Dante to notice the crowd of students near the bus stop where his bus would stop over.

Dante remembered what was written on the piece of paper that he had thrown just earlier and was smiling at the memory.

_Flashback_

_And at the same time, a white bus passed by Seiyo Academy and a certain, white haired man in a red trenchcoat sat by one of the window seats and saw Amu running around the school grounds. He smirked and looked at a piece of paper in his hand. What was written on it made things complicated for the devil hunter._

_**Dear Dante,**_

_**The Legenda di Sparda is only the first of the abandoned gateways. I know where the others are but to confirm they still exist, I need three things, Holy Water, A Yuki Onna's Kimono and Medical Blood. Once you've obtained all three, I will meet you by the pool of Mahora Academy.**_

_**Evangeline McDowell**_

_He thought, 'Now that the book was taken cared off, it's time to go over to the author and find out why there was that gate there in the library' Dante crumpled the paper and threw it out the window as he thought, '…Evangeline Mcdowell…. Looks like I won't be bored again and I'll be able to pay the bills by the end of this job.'_

_End of Flashback_

The white bus parked right outside a bus stop, allowing its passengers to exit and enter. Dante stepped off the bus with a brand new guitar case for him to conspicuously hide his weapon of choice while he awaited another bus in that bus stop. Since he was the only one left in that bus stop after his first bus left, he had time to vent out his thoughts.

He said as he looked at the blue sky, "Holy Water, a Yuki Onna's Kimono and Medical Blood. The first is pretty easy to find but the other two…This is a pain. It's not like I'm gonna meet someone with all three stuck on him."

And just in time, a yellow bus drove over and parked at his stop and allowed him entry through its sliding doors. Dante stepped inside and noticed that the bus driver in his navy blue driver's uniform had a goulish look in his face. Dante sat at the seat behind the bus driver where he let his guitar lean by the window. The driver brought out a cigar and showed it to Dante. The demon hunter said as he waved his hand off dismissively, "No thanks. I don't smoke." The bus driver returned his cigar in his pocket and pressed the button to close the sliding doors. He then shifted the gears on the bus and began driving.

As they moved along, the bus driver said in a semi-eerie voice, "The place we are headed is filled with monsters of all types. Are you prepared to face them?"

Dante replied nonchalantly, "Maybe. I probably won't stay long though."

The driver chuckled as he said, "That's unfortunate. My schedules are too long for you to wait on. Maybe you should get off while we still have time."

Dante smiled as they entered the tunnel into a wormhole, "I think I'll take my chances. You can't live life in the backseat all the time."

The bus driver smiled as they exited the wormhole and parked beside the bus stop by an evil looking forest. Dante took his guitar case over his left shoulder and walked towards the exit of the bus. But before he could exit completely, he asked the bus driver, "Is there a hospital nearby?"

The driver replied, "There is one close by. But right now, it is under reconstruction."

Dante replied, "Good enough for me. I'll just stop by after some business." With that, he exited the bus and walked into the evil forest. As he walked there, he remembered what his coworkers told him concerning this mission.

_Flashback_

_Dante sat at his desk where Lady and Trish were looking him straight in the eye. They were serious this time and Dante could feel it in his blood. He was amused on the outside as shown by his laid back stance on his chair while he ate pizza. But on the inside, he was excited._

_Trish said to him, "It looks like we have a major case on our hands. Mundus may have been sealed off but some Hellgates still remain and are dormant."_

_Dante replied after he finished his meal, "So let sleeping dogs lie."_

_Lady shook her head as he headed to the pool table. "The gates are being reopened by someone. We don't know who, how or why but we do know someone is opening them. As long as there are hellgates, we have a lot to deal with on our hands. I found one that hasn't been touched and I think you'll like it."_

_Dante replied, "Really? What's in it? A long lost cousin of yours?"_

_Lady said as she played pool, "A book called __**Legenda di Sparda**__. Ring a bell?"_

_Trish sat on top of Dante's desk and crossed her legs. "Sounds like your field of expertise. So why hire us?"_

_Lady replied as she shot the eight ball in the right, middle pocket, "Oh please. Dante is dying to read it. It talks about the Legend of Sparda from the author's point of view. Apparently, she witnessed all of his battles as well as glimpses of his life."_

_Dante placed his legs on the desk. "More like a stalker to me. Whoever wanted to hawk that guy must have some serious issues. Especially in the intrapersonal department."_

_Trish faced Dante and replied, "Like every girl who hits on you?"_

_Dante replied, "Not really. Some of them are nice but what? I tell them I'm the guy in red who takes their souls for all eternity? I like the attention but its way out of their league."_

_Trish replied with a coy smile, "That didn't stop your mother. Neither did we."_

_Dante placed his feet back on the ground and earnestly replied, "Yeah sure. And now I'm in debt six feet under."_

_Lady replied as she walked to his desk and took a slice of pizza, "Well if you do this job, You'll be out of debt for twenty more years to come. Still want to complain?"_

_Dante and Trish looked at Lady with caution at this point. Opportunity, there was. Risks, very much integral, but a hook always came with a well spread bait. Trish then asked her, "So who's your employer this time?"_

_Lady replied, "You wouldn't believe me if told you."_

_Dante replied, "You can trust us. It's not like the Almighty himself is hiring me to do this one."_

_Unfortunately, Lady had her mouth shut this time. Dante promptly fell of his chair when he tried to get up in amazement of what just happened. He and Trish were now very unnerved. Trish then held Lady by the shoulders and said, "Hey, you're telling us that you-know-who is hiring us to do a job?"_

_Dante was already ahead of them this time. In urgency, he ran out with his guitar case and guns holstered in his jacket and was already out the door and in his car. He heard their footsteps pacing towards his location so he quickly started the car and said to himself, "This is one irony I'll never forget. Looks like I'll have to be the left hand this time and it won't be pretty…for them anyway." With that he drove off as Trish and Lady ran out the door._

_End of Flashback_

Dante walked through the forest like he was strolling in the park. He said as he fixed the collar on his jacket with his right hand, "It sure is hot in here. Must be that broken barrier that's surrounding this place." He walked through the forest until he saw a three-way intersection. He was sure that one of them led to the school he was headed for.

Dante thought as he looked at his options, _'Let's see…In order to meet the author of that book, I need those three things. I heard that there's a school for monsters here so my chances of getting the stuff I need are higher than my losing streak at gambling.' _"So which way to go?" He looked at the three routes before deciding on taking the right route. He walked through the winding, dirt road amidst the curdling noises in the background. But when he walked towards the end of the road, he stopped to look at a three-story condominium surrounded by a graveyard on all sides. He said as he looked at the sight, "Should've brought my camera."

As he walked towards the place, he felt the surge of demonic aura all over the place. He, being a demon himself, couldn't help but chuckle as he walked up the stairs. He didn't know where he was headed but since he had no idea where to go from here, anywhere would be fine.

Dante felt a certain demonic aura was close by and it was just what he was hoping for. He hid behind a corner to avoid being seen by a purple-haired girl with elegant, bluish purple eyes. She had walked out of her apartment wearing, white sneakers, purple and lavender striped stockings that ended two inches below her crotch. She also had a belt tied to her left thigh that hid slightly under her green-checkered miniskirt. She wore a black tank top underneath her white, shoulder-less jacket with blue long sleeves that hid her hands from the environment. And to complete the look, she was currently eating a lollipop despite her extremely pale and sweating face and ruffled up short hair.

Dante knew he hit the jackpot. He thought as he noticed the sluggish girl, _'She's dying from the heat thanks to that broken barrier. A Yuki Onna can't stand this for very long.'_

Dante moved out of his hiding spot but ducked when several icicles were shot at him, courtesy of the purple haired girl. Dante stood straight as his opponent stood in a ready fighting stance with claws made of ice.

Dante said to her, "So that's what those sleeves are for."

The purple haired girl of seventeen years of age replied with a sharp voice, "Who are you?"

Dante replied, "My name's Dante. I have some questions for you but first, you need more bed rest."

The purple haired girl was cautious of the brightly dressed man. He looked like a wandering rockstar but the coat was like a dead giveaway to 'bad guy attire'. That, and his demonic aura is beyond anything she's ever faced. She thought as she panted from the heat, _'Sugoi. His aura is even stronger than Reverse Moka and Hukuto combined. He didn't blink when I attacked him. He's dangerous.'_

Dante stepped forward and the purple haired teen stepped back. He was scaring her and the longer she stayed outside, the faster she was melting. He said to her, "I'm not going hurt you. All I need is for you to get to bed so we can talk better."

Those were unfortunately, poor choice of words. The purple haired teen had no one to go to since she was roughly the only one in the condominium at the time. So she opted for the only thing she could do…Run.

Dante shook his head and said, "Yup, This isn't going to be easy." He gave chase and ran after her. She was running as fast as she could through the dirt road and cut through the forest to lose him. Dante was close by but eventually he lost her when she made a turn through the triple intersection earlier. He wasn't having the best time giving chase. He said to himself, "I really have rotten luck with women don't I?" He then fixed the position his guitar case was on his shoulder and said, "I'll deal with her later. For now, I better find that school and meet with the chairman."

Dante walked the straight path to only Kami knows where.

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In a suburb of Japan, somewhere close to the red light district of Tokyo, a young lady named Riiko Izawa, from the tenth grade, strolled through the dark streets of night with a young bishounen. She had shoulder length strawberry blonde hair with her side hair tied to the back. She was wearing a red, padded blouse with black trims over a white tube that had padding underneath to show that she had a large bust size. She wore a fake gold necklace, had two silver arm bracelets on her right hand and wore blue jeans and black shoes.

Walking beside her was a brown haired young man in dark blue jeans, a brown polo jacket and black shirt with several designs on it. But what was astounding about this man was not his angelic charm nor his pure blue eyes, but his personality. His naturally innocent yet caring and carefree personality made you feel like you were one with the wind.(He looks and acts like an older Sora from Kingdom Hearts with tamer hair.)

Currently, they were recently fired from their jobs at a club and were walking home. Though it had a high salary, it involved the waitresses to strip down to their underwear as part of the service to the customers. Normally, a girl like her wouldn't be seen in such places but since she had to pay a usurious amount for her ideal cybernetic boyfriend named Night, she had no alternative. One hundred million yen was far too much for her to collect with mundane jobs.

Riiko wasn't in the best of moods since her only chance at getting even one hundredth of a yen was wasted. Her boyfriend noticed this and said, "I'm sorry Riiko."

Riiko replied, "It's fine. I didn't think it would be that kind of place."

Night in his concern said, "But the money…"

Riiko quickly replied as she laughed half-heartedly, "D-Don't worry. I know! At this point we could just rob a bank or something." _'I guess I really have no choice but alternative aid.'_

Night was programmed to love her by her choice. So he did what he was programmed to do. He looked at her with concern and said, "Riiko, please return me." Riiko was surprised by what he said. Night continued with seriousness to his tone. "I don't think Gaku Namikiri will absolutely consent but, I'll negotiate with him."

Riiko replied in haste, "But—"

"I hate this." Night butted in. "I hate that your pained expression is because of me. I love it when you smile Riiko. So please, return me!"

Riiko didn't know how to react properly at this point. Her heart was beating fast. She thought through her feelings, _'What is my heart throbbing for? This must also be because of one of the options…but…' _"If you're returned, what will happen to you Night?"

Night smiled as he held her shoulders, "I'll be alright, no matter what. Because I'll be doing it for you."

Riiko was pained by his words. It was kind of him to say that even though she knows he might not be alright. _'Don't wear that expression.' _She thought as she blushed. _'Don't say it like that.'_

Night leaned in as he held her face closer with his right hand. She was caught up in the moment and slowly closed her eyes to receive what she believed she would receive from him. It was a romantic moment at best until a man in a weird costume that looked like something out of an RPG said from his perched area on a railing, "You two're getting' along well!"

Riiko pushed Night to the side to see the man known as Gaku Namikiri there, seated a few feet away from her. She blushed in embarrassment as Gaku said, "Yer talkin' 'bout a product from m' company! What's there t' 'lets return him' about!"

Riiko replied in confusion, "Gaku?! When did you?!"

Gaku said with his arms in a disagreeing pose, "D'ya two need a room…is what I wanna ask here. But it'd be no use!" he scratched his head as he said, "Guess there's no gettin' around it! I can give ya th' special super service drastic price mark down. Whatev'r yer able t' pay right now is what y'll pay."

Riiko replied in excitement, "Really?!"

Gaku retorted, "There's jus' one c'ndition. Ya will pr'vide yerself fer our company!"

Riiko was wide eyed and shocked from what she heard. Eventually, they took the talk to a high-rise restaurant a few stories up in a building where things would get sorted out but by this time, Riiko was burnt up with frustration by what the man suggested. She said as her eyebrows slanted in anger, "Just what do you mean you're going to sell my body?!"

Gaku was confused. "Ah, eh? Ya got 't all wrong!"

Riiko replied, "That's what you just said out on the street!!! In exchange for drastically reducing Night's one hundred million yen price…"

"Ah! Who said anythin' 'bout that?" Gaku replied. "Numero uno, there isn' any sales pitch convincin' enough to pawn you off!"

Riiko stood up in anger and was about to blow up when Night held her down and said, "Riiko, calm down!"

Gaku decided to become serious again. "In short, we wanna gather data from ya."

"Data?" Riiko asked.

Gaku explained, "There's no denyin' this fella's a well built figure, yeah. But even so, jus' by virtue o' bein' a new device, there's many untested aspects o' him that're unknown. The product concept is that he's s'pposed to please girls but, even if his appear'nce an' shape can t'some extent be generated from a pattern, seems his ability t' deal with the intr'cacies o' the female mentality still needs improvem'nt. If ya don' have feelin's fer him, ya don' wanna do him, right?" Riiko blushed at this point. Gaku continued his explanation for her, seeing as she got that point. He continued his explanation about her task and the special ring on Night's left hand and how it responds to her emotions. The jewel in the ring changes color from white to black if she's sad, red if she's happy, blue if angry and pink if as Gaku puts it, "A pleasin' shade of pleasure."

As the negotiations went on, they didn't realize that they were being watched by Trish from a table not too far away. It was just across the room but Trish could hear every word they said as well as see everything that was going on. She was drinking some red wine as she watched them and the drink fit her character perfectly despite the fact she was spying them. Trish thought as she watched, _'So there's the next target. They can blame it on faulty production but a gate is still a gate. Taking it now would be a problem especially since that salesman is still there. But if I don't act now…' _She looked to her right and saw three ugly looking men in business attires, suited for a Yakuza, eating dinner while occasionally glancing her target and casually chatting away. One was skinny and had blonde hair and a scar on his chin. That and his suit is white and purple. Another was average sized but was bald and wore shades to hide his blood shot eyes. At least his black suit and white tie wasn't a dead giveaway for henchman. And the last man was an African-American with dreadlocks tied in a low ponytail but his lip piercing and gray coat made him look like someone straight from the local mafia of a New York gang.

Trish could tell these guys were also after the gate but they played things smart. Despite their rough appearances, they were highly trained. They stayed inconspicuous and changed attires to suit the job. They paid in cash whenever possible, and chatted away like regular employees on break. All in all, they just seemed to be hard working guys with the flare of young professionals in the up and coming world. Trish thought as she momentarily eyed them, _'They don't look like CIA or NSA. But they're not even part of the JSDF. Lady was right. This is a serious case. Whoever these guys are, they won't give themselves away for no reason. They're good. Too good that it's boring me. I can tell that they're not completely human even though they're suppressing their demon side so fighting in the open is dangerous unless I can find a good distraction for them or take the upper hand.'_

Fortunately for her, she noticed a certain pink-haired elementary school girl in a black blouse with a red tie, white skirt and brown boots was roaming the restaurant with her Shugo Charas in tow and a brown sling bag over her shoulder. Alongside her were her friends, Rima Mashiro, Tadase Hotori, Nagihiko Fujisaki, and Yaya Yuiki and their respective Shugo Charas. Trish smirked as she thought, _'So that must be the girl who found the first gate. Dante, you need to pick your partners more seriously.' _She drank up her glass and was about to get up until she noticed that Amu and her friends were seated in the table just in front of her. Trish decided to do something to attract Amu's attention as well as her target's. She called on the waiter and whispered to him, "Give the table in front of me and the table with the handsome boy a slice of rum cake." She then handed him two notes and said, "Place these with their order." The waiter did as he was told and hopped towards the kitchen.

Amu and her friends sat at the table with a little unease. They weren't used to being in such a classy place especially, Amu who came from a small, normal Japanese family.

Amu sweatdropped as she asked Rima, "Are you sure it's alright for us to eat with you here? Somehow, it looks awkward for you."

Rima replied with a straight face, "Hai. All of you are my friends. So I thought that…"

Yaya cut in, "Heeeh?! Rima is so nice today. It's suspicious."

Tadase replied with an understanding smile, "I'm glad that Rima-san invited us to eat dinner together. She's changed so much since she became a guardian."

Rima was a little surprised by what he said. Amu said as she faced Rima, "Tadase-kun is right. You've changed a lot and became a lot happier."

Pepe nodded and said, "Everyone has changed except Kiseki."

Kiseki replied in annoyance, "What's that? Take that back commoner! I command you!"

Ran replied, "No! We won't take it back until you get us ice cream!"

All the other Shugo Charas cheered on in mutiny, making Kiseki even more frustrated. The rest of them laughed. Amu thought back to those days when she was still getting into the role of the joker. _'It happened one year ago and now, I've become a full-fledged guardian. A lot of things happened ever since I made that wish and now I have new friends and Tadase.' _But then she remembered what happened that day she met Dante and all that mayhem happened before her eyes. _'But that happened as well. The things on TV doesn't seem so far away than before now that I've been in a place like it. Those things about demons being monsters are true. I nearly died there and was the only one aside from that woman and Dante who survived. I never knew how precious life really is and how scary it is to die until now.'_

"Amu-chi? What's wrong?" Yaya said as she waved her hand close to Amu's out of world gaze. Amu returned to reality and said, "Heh? What's wrong?"

Ran said with a concerned voice, "Amu-chan, this isn't like you at all. You're spacing out a lot. More than usual."

Amu frowned and said, "What does that supposed to mean?"

Nagihiko said to Amu, "Amu-chan, are you thinking of someone?"

Amu was surprised by his reply and Miki said, "Amu-chan has many things to think about. She has a hard time deciding on her love life."

Amu then pulled Miki's hat over her face and said as she crossed her arms, "I don't have time to worry about pointless things. Besides, don't put your own problems on me."

Tadase then said, "But it's good to worry sometimes." They all listened in to his words at this point. "There are so many things we take for granted that we don't realize it until it is gone. Like our time together as guardians."

Amu replied, "That's right. Kukai is in middle school already. Kairi and Nadeshiko are gone as well. We didn't even realize that they were already somewhere far away."

Nagihiko sweatdropped knowing that he was the Nadeshiko that Amu was talking about. But she was right on track though. There were things that they had forgotten in the pace of the moment. They all thought about things for a moment until Kiseki cleared his throat and said, "What are all of you sulking about? We can't dwell on the past. We won't be able to dominate the world if we stay stuck here thinking about something we can't change."

Rima was the first to snap into attention and said, "He has a point."

Tadase nodded. "That's right. Although it is good to think about things, we can't ignore the present either. Let's treasure the time together."

They nodded and Yaya exclaimed, "Let's celebrate today! To the Guardians and the Embryo!"

They raised their voices in a little cheer as a waiter handed a slices of rum cake to the five of them. Amu then said in surprise, "But we haven't ordered yet."

The waiter replied, "They're from the guest in the table behind you." They all looked to see the ever watchful Trish, sitting elegantly with her left leg crossed over her right while she sat straight and held a glass of red wine in her left hand. She took a sip before placing it back down on her table. Amu said with a deadpanned look. "What does she want? Let's just send it back and wait for our order right, Tadase-kun?" But she was shocked and jawdropped to see the sparkles in Tadase's eyes. The kiddy king said, "I've never seen an elegant woman before. Kiree…"

Amu suddenly turned into a cracked statue. Ran then said, "Don't give in Amu-chan! You can beat that old lady!" Pepe suddenly butted in, "But it's hard to get Tadase's attention because he rejects all sorts of girls." Miki replied, "Maybe it's because that woman is his type." Amu suddenly crumbled into dust as her soul seemed to begin vanishing. Kiseki made things worse when he said, "I can see why he looks at her. She radiates authority and high class. Though she's not as good as a royalty like me, but she definitely is confident in herself and capable. The almost perfect queen for a King like myself, HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Amu felt the last words hit her hard and break her apart. She slumped on the table and said, "That is Tadase's ideal woman…I'm nothing like her." Her Shugo Charas tried to comfort her while Rima warily ate the Rum Cake and Nagihiko looked at Trish with a predator's gaze. He didn't understand why but there was something about that woman that was very off. Amu, though depressed by the sudden turn of events, noticed a small note on her plate. She quickly took the note and read it.

**You owe my friend a car. I've come to collect. Meet me in the restroom.**

Amu looked at where the woman was seated and saw her get up and walk towards the restroom with a strawberry blonde haired girl following close by. Amu said as she got up, "I need to use the restroom. I'll be back." She quickly headed for the restroom until she forgot to bring her bag and quickly rushed back to get it and headed inside the restroom where it was just her, Trish and Riiko.

Trish looked at the both of them with a calculating stare. Amu held tight on her bag. But exchanged glances with the two other women. Riiko on the other hand, was confused by this sudden turn of events. One moment, she was talking with Gaku and as soon as he left, an order of rum cake with a note was sent to her by a mysterious woman.

Riiko quickly took the offensive and said, "What do you mean you can offer me one hundred million yen?"

Amu was perplexed by Riiko's words. Trish on the other hand, stayed calm and said, "It's just like it was written. One hundred million yen to pay off your online purchase."

Riiko frowned as she raised up her hand in a stop gesture. "Wait a minute. What do I have to do to get the money?" _'Is she going to sell me? Or maybe…Don't tell me…she's one of THOSE kinds of people! Then again, she already looks the part with that outfit. That's right. She must be into BDSM and I could end up as her personal sex slave!'_

Amu then asked Trish, "Are you Dante's friend?" _'I didn't think a guy like that would have friends.'_

Trish replied to Amu, "Maybe. But you do owe him a car since you did blow it up and he owes me money for that car I lent him."

Riiko then thought as Amu sweatdropped, _'This girl looks like she's in elementary school. So even a kid is in this type of trouble? This woman must be very dangerous.' _She then stepped in front of Amu and said, "Hey, why are you blackmailing a little kid? What kind of person are you?"

Trish replied, "Someone who needs help and can offer help in return. I can pay you if you do a job for me." She then faced Amu and said, "As well as cancel your debt to me."

Amu replied, "I don't owe you anything."

Trish corrected her by telling her, "No, you do. Dante's car was paid by me. I bought it for him but it still is mine since I bought it with my own money. So since you blew it up, you blew up my car. Do you understand?"

Amu nodded and sighed in one corner. Riiko wanted to comfort the poor girl but Trish suddenly said, "I know it's harsh but reality is a lot harsher than this. Both of you are in deep trouble and have no one else to turn to with your problems. I don't find it fair that she has a debt with me nor that you have a debt because of a mistake you made. But in order to fix it, you have to fix it yourselves but can you really fix it alone?"

Riiko looked to Trish and understood what she meant. Amu on the other hand was crying anime tears, knowing that Trish was right and she had no choice but to pay for the car she blew up.

Amu then asked Trish, "Wh-what do I have to do?" _'Don't tell me I have to fight those things again because of this woman!'_

Riiko said to Trish, "I'll do whatever it is you want me to, just let her off."

Trish shook her head and said, "A debt is a debt and I need the both of you for this job. Otherwise, Amu's parents will have to pay for the eight hundred thousand dollar insurance and you, Riiko, you don't want everyone to know that your boyfriend is a cybernetic doll you accidentally bought off the internet."

Amu and Riiko were bug-eyed and jawdropped. Both had saucers for eyes and couldn't help but feel they were in even deeper trouble by talking to this lady who is coercing them forcefully to comply.

Both blackmailed girls succumbed and sighed in defeat. Trish then said, "Riiko, you will drive me and my associates around and Amu will be your bodyguard. I will call you when I need you so be ready and on time. It's easy money."

Riiko replied, "So we're really robbing a bank? Wait, why am I the getaway driver?!"

Amu frowned and thought, _'What we'll be doing is worse than robbing a bank. But if okaa-san and otou-san find out that I blew up an expensive car, I'll be grounded for life.'_

Trish replied, "You don't need to worry. Getting from one place to another fast is something even a kid can do. I'll keep in touch." She walked out of the restroom and towards the table where Night was surrounded by the three, ugly, suspicious men who was spying on him. Trish then said to them, "Would you gentlemen care to talk?"

The three ugly men looked at Trish as she fixed her blonde hair. The three men knew she meant business and the blonde one said in a British accent, "Sure thing. How's the club in the back sound to ya?"

Trish replied, "Fine with me." She turned around and led them down the stairs.

Though Trish was leading the three men away from harms way, Amu and Riiko were both in a dilemma they can't comprehend.

Amu held her hair with both hands while she panicked. "AHHH!!!! Eight hundred thousand dollars! It's not even in yen! What do I do? I'm being dragged into another nightmare!"

Riiko then held her by the shoulder and said, "It's alright. You're not the only one in trouble." She saw the panic in Amu's eyes. It wasn't comforting. "Amu-chan right? How do you know that person?"

Amu replied, "That person I think is the friend of the guy whose car I accidentally destroyed." Riiko was shocked. After all, how could a girl of Amu's age destroy a car? Amu then asked her, "What about you? What happened?" Riiko replied as she scratched her head, "I bought a robot doll from the internet that cost one hundred million yen. No one can know about it or else I have to pay up to the salesman who sold it to me. If I can't pay, who knows what will happen to me and my family."

Amu said as she looked at Riiko, "Why did you buy it in the first place then?"

Riiko replied, "You're not one to talk either." Amu frowned and said, "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" Riiko thought about it and replied with a chuckle, "I'm becoming a criminal to pay off my debt. Just like in those action movies and manga."

Amu sweatdropped. "It's nothing like you think. We'll be caught in a battle against demons. You shouldn't have agreed." _'What am I saying? We were both being blackmailed.' _Riiko replied with a smile, "It's alright. I can do it. Besides, I can't stand by when you're scared." Amu was amazed with Riiko's blind courage and kindness. She thought, _'Baka. Stop acting like Tadase-kun. Why are you sacrificing yourself for me?'_

Suddenly, Yaya entered the restroom and said, "Amu-chi! What took you so long?"

Amu quickly replied, "I-I just needed to…" Yaya looked at Amu with curiousity until she saw that Amu had toilet paper under her left foot. "Oh. Sorry. We'll wait outside. Make sure to wipe properly." Amu flared and shouted, "Yaya, what does that supposed to mean?!" Riiko smiled at the incident. _'She's just a little girl. But she has a very strong heart.'_

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Dante had walked through the dirt road in search of the school that he was looking for. He was getting tired of having nothing to do and the weight of his guitar started to bug him. Good thing that the dirt road finally ended and he found the school. Dante looked at the semi-gothic design with a mix of modern architecture. He said to himself, "More surprises. Time to look for the chairman of this school." He then entered through its gates to see a brown haired woman in an old, pink and brown, gothic dress with two ponytails at the sides of her head. She was sweeping the grounds but the sweat on her face said she was tired. Dante glanced at her but continued on his way until the woman turned around and said, "Wait."

Dante turned around and said, "Sorry but I'm a little busy today. I'll come back after I meet up with the chairman of Yokai Gakuen."

The woman bowed and said, "You must be Dante. I am Ruby, the Chairman's assistant. He asked me to escort you inside."

Dante replied, "Well if that's the case, lead the way." He stepped to the side to allow her to take the lead and he followed her into the school. The place was filled with students and staff who were down to their white undershirts and polo. The heat made the inside even hotter than the school grounds and since the air was stale, you could really feel the heat. Dante said as they walked up the stairs, "Man am I glad I don't live here. If this is the way you educate these kids, this place will seriously get bankrupt." _'And to think I have no right to say that.'_

Ruby wiped the sweat off her brow as they arrived at the hallway to the chairman's office. "You will have to excuse us this time. Normally, the school has no real temperature or season but there has been some problems with the barrier and we ended up having this weather. We are trying to fix it as soon as possible." When they arrived, she then opened the door of the chairman's office and allowed the devil hunter in before entering herself and closing the door behind her.

The chairman was in a priestly gown of white with a white hood over his head that shadowed his face except for his gleaming eyes. The chairman also had a silver cross around his neck and kept a steady composure.

"Welcome Dante, to Yokai Academy." Said the chairman. "I am the chairman of this school. What brings the son of the Legendary Dark Night here?"

Dante replied, "You know, every time I hear my father's title I keep remembering a movie I watched before I got this job. Had the same title for the film. So much for copyright these days."

The chairman retorted as he placed his hands behind his back, "Let's put away the jokes for later. I understand why you called me earlier but I don't remember having any students in my school having to do with the other dimension. Unless there's something I don't know."

Dante replied, "Actually I have a favor to ask you. I need three things and I'll be on my way." Dante then placed a bottle of Holy Water on top of the chairman's desk and said, "I found this one on the way here. But the other two things, I'm out of stock."

"What are they?" The chairman asked. Dante replied, "A Yuki Onna's Kimono and Medical Blood."

The chairman replied, "I see. But I don't have those things here."

Dante took back the Holy Water and tucked back in his jacket. "True, but you've got a student who is a Yuki Onna. I was wondering if I could get a Kimono from her and then get the Medical Blood on my way back."

Ruby knew who that was and said, "How did you know? Did you meet Mizore-san?"

Dante replied, "So that's her name. I met her but she ran off. The girl looked really pale for her kind. Can you help me find her? She's probably sick from this heat."

The chairman replied, "Actually, she and her friends are going on a trip to visit her homeland. I hear that there was going to be a ceremony to adulthood within the week over there. Why don't you join them?"

Dante replied, "Sounds good to me."

The chairman faced Ruby and said, "Ruby, escort Dante-san to the bus. He'll be in charge of protecting the students."

Dante replied, "Now I have to babysit?" the chairman replied, "This is an opportunity to get to know them better and for them to understand a living legend. Especially since one of them is still human. It is both our best interests that you guard them and they help you in what little way they can."

Dante grunted and said, "Perfect. I'll tell you what happens after we throw snowballs at each other."

Ruby then escorted him to where the bus was parked. It wasn't a school bus but a regular white bus with large glass windows. But as they walked towards the bus, he noticed Mizore wasn't alone. Alongside her was a girl with shoulder length blue hair and purple eyes. her hair was tied in a loose, high ponytail that screamed perky girl and her white legwarmers, green checkered miniskirt and yellow blazer over a white short sleeved polo complimented her attitude. Alongside that girl was a shorter girl of about eleven years old in what looks like a mixture of the school attire with that of a witch's gown as indicated by the pointed hat she wore and yellow stockings held by garter belts. Her hair was a short bowl cut to adorn her cute face despite her high intellect. Just a little behind the short girl was another girl with roughly the same height. She had red hair tied into two pigtails to contrast her pale skin and green eyes. She wore a red version of the school uniform but kept the green checkered miniskirt and had brown stockings that ended just above her knees. And finally, behind her was a pink haired girl in the regular school uniform and a brown haired young man. The pink haired girl had long hair that ended at the middle of her back and a black choker around her neck with a silver rosario on a four linked chain attached to it. It was unusual in that it had a red jewel in the middle but other than that, her beauty and green eyes overpowered the oddity. The young man beside her however, was an ordinary boy in the school uniform. Average in all aspects but had a similarly designed bracelet on his right hand. It had cracks on several links but it wasn't too badly broken.

Ruby walked a little ahead of Dante to meet up with the group and say to them, "Everyone, let's have a roll call." When she had their undivided attention, she started taking names. "Akayashi, Moka…"

The pink haired girl replied, "Hai."

"Aono, Tsukune…" Ruby called next.

The brown haired boy then replied, "Hai."

"Korono, Kurumu…"

The blue haired girl raised her hand. "Yahoo!"

"Sendou, Yukari…"

The little witch raised her hand and replied, "Hai desu."

"Shirayuki, Mizore…"

The purple haired girl replied, "Hai."

"Shuzen, Kokoa…"

The short, red haired girl replied, "Hai…hai."

Ruby saw that everyone was present and was in shape for the trip. "Everyone, this is Sparda, Dante. He will be our bodyguard on this trip."

They looked at the white haired man with awe and a little bit of fright. Tsukune wasn't as fine tuned as his friends when it came to sensing demonic aura so he couldn't understand why his friends were trembling slightly and why Mizore was hiding behind him.

Dante noticed their uneasy faces. He was used to fighting demons that could blow up half a city with ease but against trembling innocents, it wasn't his area of expertise. But he did notice that Mizore was hiding behind Tsukune. He suddenly said, "So there you are. You ran off without introducing yourself. Mizore-san right? Nice to meet you."

They looked at Mizore and Tsukune asked, "Mizore-chan, do you know him?"

Mizore mumbled, "He was stalking me awhile ago."

Dante replied, "Hey hold on there. I recall you trying to use me as a pincushion for icicles. Besides, I got lost and needed directions and it just so happened you were around. Of course, you attacked me and ran off without an explanation. But that's all in the past. How about we start over." He then extended his right hand and politely said, "Konnichiwa. Watashi wa Dante-san desu. Yoroshiku."

Mizore was in a bind. Before she could counteract the argument, Dante politely offered peace and a formal greeting. It would've been disrespectful of her to ignore this outright, especially in front of her friends.

Moka however, wanted peace and said, "Mizore-chan, he doesn't mean any harm. I think it's okay to trust him."

Kurumu added, "Oi, just apologize already! Let's go and get out of this heat!"

"Desu, desu!" exclaimed Yukari. Mizore on the other hand, just got on the bus and refused to apologize. Dante put down his right hand and said, "Oh well. No use waiting here."

After that little incident, they entered the bus and drove towards the entrance tunnel and into the wormhole. With the tension from earlier, a little eased up, Kurumu stood up and shouted, "Yahoo! We're going on a trip! Step on it driver!"

The bus driver replied, "Heehee. Leave it to me. If it's an area joined by these fourth-dimension tunnels, you can get anywhere in just a short hop."

Kurumu then rummaged through the seats while asking, "Is there karaoke?" The bus driver chimed in, "I want to sing Enka."

Eventually, Kurumu found the Karaoke machine and sang her heart out. While one person was in the mood for fun, Ruby decided to explain why the Academy had such a heatwave. "The director said that they were in the middle of adjusting the barrier and then the heat went up so much. It seems like it's gonna take two or three days to get it back to the proper temperature."

Kokoa leaned in from her seat and said, "So then for that time, we'll be with your folks right Mizore? Thank god."

Yukari chimed in from beside Kokoa, "Snow girl land is probably nice and cool too."

Mizore smiled seeing her friends happy and excited. Dante on the other hand, was just peacefully seated in the very back enjoying the ride, completely detached from everyone else. He didn't like to babysit so any chance he could get to stay detached, he did. He was here on a mission and stayed true to his objectives. But despite that mentality, he still had an observant eye and noticed that Mizore was slightly troubled. He didn't know by what, but he knew it was something that kept dogging her for the past hours or so.

Kurumu finished her singing and went over to Mizore with a sly smile. She then said, "But what's with the change? You'd normally be happy with just Tsukune but you invited all of us. It's surprising. Is it gonna start snowing next?"

The bus driver saw the light at the end of the tunnel and knew what was there. "Heeheehee…I can see it now. We're almost at our destination."

Kurumu exclaimed, "Yay! We're there!"

When they exited the tunnel, they were caught in a blinding storm of white snow. The driver pulled over quickly and dropped them off in the middle of the storm before saying, "Heehee. Take care now." with that, he drove off, leaving everyone except Dante and Mizore, bug-eyed.

"It's cold!!!" everyone except Kurumu, Dante and Mizore exclaimed.

Dante wasn't phased because he went through worse. Mizore wasn't because it was her homeland while Kurumu on the other hand wasn't phased because she was gripping Mizore by her jacket while angrily shouting, "Hold it! Is this snow land or a blizzard! Where the hell are we?!"

Dante looked around and thought, _'This is nostalgic. Last time I saw snow was when I was with the kid. I wonder how he's doing?'_

Mizore then said, "The weather's cool isn't it?"

Kurumu suddenly ranted, "We're gonna freeze to death! Extremes! How come it has to be boiling hot or freezing cold?!"

Tsukune said as he shivered, "This place is our destination?!"

Mizore turned to face them and said, "Just like the Yokai Academy is kept at Autumn temperature all year, here the greater part of the year is winter its ok…once we get to my home the wind will stop and the temperature will ease up."

Mizore began to walk ahead and the rest followed her close behind. She said as they marched, "It's this way. Stick close so you don't get separated."

They followed her instructions as their feet sank into the snow with each step. The snow made it hard for the ones not used to the weather so most of them had to shield their eyes from the snow with their arms.

Kurumu had given this trip a lot of thought. Mizore wasn't acting herself so the blue haired girl asked her, "Hey…are you scheming something Mizore?"

Mizore replied, "Hm? Why?"

Kurumu replied, "This is too nice for you. You're being so well behaved that it's weird."

Mizore walked up to a cliff where the snow storm cleared up and said, "I don't really care what you're thinking, but I wanted to show you guys this view. That was my original plan actually."

When everyone made it to the cliff, they saw the magnificent view of the winter paradise that was Mizore's homeland. The city was made entirely of ice. Each building stood up like a tower with one taller than the rest while they were connected with pathways made of smooth ice that were reminiscent of a roller coaster and an ice rink. They all awed at the sight but Dante had other plans. He then walked to Mizore and said, "I was wondering if there was a shop where I could buy one of your hand made kimonos."

Mizore looked at him with a deadpanned look and said, "Why? You want to wear one?"

Dante replied, "Sure, why not. Souvenirs would be nice."

Kurumu and Yukari overheard it and began to murmer between themselves.

"I've never met people like that before." Kurumu whispered.

"But it would be nice to take a picture of desu." Yukari responded.

Dante suddenly said, "I heard that. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can dress to impress."

Moka chuckled a little when she heard him. Never had they encountered a person like him before and it was something intruiging. Of course, they stopped the small talk and walked towards the city. When they got there, they were even more awed with the way the city looked. The city had modern designs in its architecture despite the fact that it was made entirely of ice.

"Amazing!" all of them except Dante and Mizore shouted out.

"This is the land of the snow girl?" Kurumu asked out loud. "It's totally unreal."

They walked straight into the town square where they stood by a circle fountain. However, they weren't the only ones there. A blue-eyed woman with silver hair tied up in the back, wearing a bluish white kimono and a purple obi, elegantly walked in. Though she had two attendants in a red kimono, walking behind her, she stood out the most. The woman then approached the party and said, "Welcome. I've been waiting for you."

Tsukune immediately recognized her and said, "Ah! Mizore-san's Okaa-chan."

The elegant woman replied, "It's Tsurara. We haven't met since that school event have we Tsukune-san?" She moved a bit closer to them and calmly said, "Well, what do you think? Do you like this place?"

Tsukune responded, "Yes, of course! It's the first time I've ever seen a place this beautiful."

Tsurara looked to the sky and said, "Most of the buildings are made with ice. Because of the barrier, the sky is always an aurora." Tsurara then moved closer to Tsukune and said, "But, in this beautiful land we are also concerned with a declining birth-rate. Compared to the scale of the land there is also the side of a declining population."

"Tsurara-san…" The nervous Tsukune replied. He knew not what she had planned by the words she was using while Dante and everyone else had an idea.

Tsurara replied to Tsukune with a smiling face, "Yes…so Tsukune-san…we will have to have you and Mizore start making children soon."

Tsukune started sweating at this point and panicking when Tsurara suddenly grabbed him by the collar and dragging him away while saying, "Well then, come this way your bed has been prepared already."

"Wait!!!" Tsukune screamed. "What do you mean bed?!"

Moka was really panicked by what was happening. "Tsukune!!"

Suddenly, an ice kunai flew and struck Tsurara in the head, rendering her immobile when she dropped to the floor and allowing Tsukune his freedom again. Mizore then stood over her with her left hand on her hip while juggling two, ice kunai in her right hand. "Such unnecessary concerns are useless mother."

Moka sighed in relief while saying, "She's a scary mother as always."

Kurumu added, "Moms like that make kids like this huh."

Tsurara immediately recovered and noticed Dante standing behind the party of teenagers. She was utterly surprised. She gazed at his good looks and gauged him while miraculously appearing in front of him, shocking everyone else.

"Ara ara…" Tsurara started. "Who might you be?"

Dante replied, "A lone ranger on a mission. A boring one so far."

Tsurara placed her right hand over her lips very slightly and said as she chuckled in a mature fashion. "That's too bad. Maybe you can join us later where you and I can talk about it."

Dante replied with a sly smile, "Sorry but I don't chat on the job. But I could reconsider if you give me a kimono like yours."

Tsurara replied, "But this is my only one. If I give it to you I won't have anything to wear. Fufufu."

Dante replied, "Sounds interesting. I think we can get along just fine."

Kurumu was irked by the guy just as much as Mizore was. "He's almost like Gin-sempai. The guy is a total pervert!"

Mizore replied, "You shouldn't judge others that resemble yourself, ero chi-chi onna."

Kurumu approached her and said, "Ah. Shouldn't I be saying that… stalker onna."

Tsukune then replied, "Um, We're all tired and hungry from the walk here. Let's go find a place to stay."

Tsurara faced them and said, "You're right. Let's go to my house so that you can rest and relax."

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They eventually reached the home of Mizore and Tsurara where they unwinded and ate an early dinner in the dining room of the Shirayuki's traditionally built house. As they sat and ate, they talked about a lot of things and the conversation drifted into the purpose for their visit.

Tsurara commented, "Yes, yes, you came home for tomorrows "flower offering" didn't you Mizore."

Moka was curious and asked, "Flower Offering? What's that?"

Tsurara responded, "Oh, you haven't heard of it?"

Mizore decided to explain. "A flower giving is just like it says. It's a ceremony where you gather flowers from the mountain and then offer them at the temple…little flowers called, '_Shira Yuki_'.

Yukari suddenly had a pique of interest. "Shira Yuki?"

Mizore replied, "_Shira Yuki_ are said to have the power of matchmaking. The daughters of this land who are turning seventeen offer these flowers to pray for a good match and lucky finds."

Dante suddenly replied, "A coming of age day, right?" _'Jackpot.'_

Tsurara faced him and replied, "Yes. That's exactly it. Tomorrow, we have to dress up Mizore."

Moka replied as she imagined it, "A coming of age day…" _'Dressed up!'_

Kurumu shook her head in excitement and said, "That's nice. I want to do it too. I want to get dressed and get married."

Tsurara chimed in, "Oh. Then shall we have all of you participate? I will lend you the kimonos and everything."

"Really?!" the girls exclaimed. Moka quickly faced Tsukune and happily said, "Alright Tsukune look forward to my beauty."

Tsukune hesitantly replied, "Ye-yeah."

Kurumu, not one to lose sharpness said, "Moka! Taking advantage of the confusion. You…" she quickly faced Tsukune up close and said, "You're looking forward to me more, right Tsukune?"

Moka quickly replied, "I-I'll do my best too Tsukune."

Kurumu suddenly pounced Mizore with a loveable hug and said, "Arigato Mizore! This is what you were planning all along. You invited us to your matchmaking event." Mizore chocked out, "I can't breathe." Of course, Kurumu couldn't hear her properly but she eased up on the strength of her hug and said as she looked Mizore in the eye, "I'm so glad. You're always all cool and so until now, I didn't really have confidence in _us_. But you really do think about everyone don't you. Even though we are rivals in love, we're friends aren't we."

Eventually, the festivities died down and the group from Yokai Academy fell asleep in a large room where they received proper rest. Of course, Dante wasn't ready to slumber and was in the hallway where he was busy chatting on the telephone with Lady who was currently calling from inside a warehouse with several soldiers and mercenaries.

Dante said over its receiver, "I got the second item I need before I meet up with the author of the book."

Lady said over the phone, "Need any help?"

Dante replied, "I'm fine here. What about you? Anything on your end?"

Lady replied, "I got word from Trish that she found out whose been plotting this scheme. She ran into three of the pawns while investigating the second gate." Dante asked, "Did they talk?" Lady replied, "A lot. Which makes me wonder why. According to her, they were trained professionals who sold their souls to their employer. Careful there. This could be a trap."

Dante looked around the halls before replying, "So who's the psychotic mastermind this time?" Lady replied, "A man named Sebastian Jenkins. He was one of my father's apprentices who he banished after he went insane. He owns a nuclear power plant in Mongolia and is the sponsor for the reconstruction of Romania's city plumbing. Sometimes I wonder where my father gets these guys."

Dante replied, "Birds of a feather flock together Lady. Anything else about him?" Lady retorted, "Aside from his wallet the size of your boots, he just announced on the news that he's building a company that brings back the power of the ancients with technology from today in perfect synergy. It's called Ensis. But what he means by that is he's going to fuse technology and magic together. Am I right so far?" Dante replied, "That doesn't sound like you. But yeah, that's the whole point to his speech from what I'm hearing. And if he's an apprentice of Arkham, he could put the whole world on fire. Plus I'm betting his work is under the radar of the Magic Community."

"Magic Community?" Lady asked. Dante replied, "Yup. You haven't heard of them after hunting so many demons? And they aren't the fairytale kind either." Lady sighed and said, "Now my head hurts. You're expecting me to believe that there are…"

"You win the lottery." Dante answered. "Witches, Warlocks, and magic tricks. There's a whole planet of them in a parallel dimension from what I found out from Evangeline. Even I didn't know that." Lady replied, "Great. I haven't found a single gateway and already there are other people involved." Dante replied, "Well, that's just part of our lives. By the way, what are you doing right now?" Lady replied, "I'm stocking up on weapons. And if it's against mages, we'll need something that can stop them from a distance farther than they can stop us."

Dante replied, "Sucks to be you. I'll see you after I'm done with this little sidequest. Don't blow yourself up now." he then put down the receiver and sighed as Tsurara appeared behind him. He turned around and said, "Looks like my real job here is done. But I can't leave the kids with you just yet."

Tsurara replied, "I understand. Even though they don't readily trust you, I can see that you're a real man unlike my son-in-law." Dante turned around and walked to the living room where he saw his guitar case. He quickly opened it and equipped Rebellion to his back before shutting the guitar case. Tsurara had followed him and said, "Will you be alright in this weather? You don't have to fight against the organization for us. We can handle our own problems."

Dante said before he walked out the front door, "You let me in the house. The least I can do is pick up the garbage and clean up afterwards." He then opened the door and shut it behind him to walk out into the cold. He marched a few miles out of the house and into the snowy forest. It wasn't a snowstorm anymore within the confines of the city's barrier.

He marched out of sight of any buildings till all he could see were hills of snow and trees dotting the white plains. Though the cold was enough to bite his blood, he seems to be doing just fine. He marched off into the snow until he ended up near a meadow of white flowers that stretched for miles. He looked at the flowers and thought, _'Places like these don't grow very often. I really should've brought my camera.'_

But his thoughts were short lived when he heard a 'Who' sound. He looked around until he noticed an owl with a letter in its feet, flying towards him. He stretched out his hand and allowed the owl to drop the note in his hand and fly off into the distance. He looked at the letter first to inspect it before opening it and reading the contents.

**While you're at it, why don't you bring me a couple of other ingredients. If you are where I think you are right now, then bring me five hundred Shira Yukis. Try not to smell the flowers while you're there.**

**-Evangeline Mcdowell**

Dante crumpled the paper and threw it into the air. While it was in mid-air, he then quickly unsheathed Rebellion and spun it in a fan motion before throwing to the bed of flowers where it cut like a lawnmower. He then jumped upwards and dashed in mid-air to catch the freshly cut flowers into a bag in his jacket. While falling, he noticed that the Rebellion was flying off into a different direction so he pulled out Ebony with his left hand and fired at the spinning sword, changing its trajectory. The Rebellion flew to the left and cut through the meadow again, allowing the flowers to fly up into the air once more. Dante jumped once more and dashed through the air to catch the flowers before shooting the Rebellion to change direction and repeat the process about five times before the Rebellion flew into the air vertically. As it fell to where Dante was standing, Dante holstered Ebony and said as he tied up the bag of flowers, "From devil hunter to florist. You better be ready to pay extra Evangeline. Because this bouquet of flowers…" He then caught the Rebellion by the handle with his right hand so that it was parallel to his shoulders allowing the crumpled piece of paper to fall right on top of its blade. "Comes with a kiss."

If one were to look from a birds eye view of Dante's handiwork, you would notice that the areas where Rebellion sawed its way through, spelled out three words…**Devil May Cry** in script with Dante in the connection of the letter a and m. he then tossed the crumpled piece of paper into his left hand before sheathing Rebellion on his back. He said as he placed the piece of paper in his pocket, "Say no to litter. At least that's what Lady tells me anyway." He quickly hid the bag of flowers into his jacket and walked further into the meadow until he noticed on one of the cliffs where the meadows ended, Mizore, in her yukata, carrying Tsukune bridal style in his snow clothes while skiing towards the meadows with skis made of ice that also cuffed her entire feet. The two looked like they had just run away from someone or something and it made Dante curious. He walked a bit closer to observe for the moment.

Mizore stopped just in front of the meadow and Tsukune said to her, "They're not chasing us."

Mizore replied, "Anyway, it looks like we lost them."

Tsukune got off her arms and stood on his two feet to marvel in awe at the sight of the meadow. "Mizore-chan, these…"

"Yeah," Mizore replied as her skis melted. "This is what I wanted to show you."

The two looked at the meadows with awe of its beautiful field of white flowers that gleamed with a soft shine in the midst of a dry and cold climate.

Mizore slowly walked towards the meadow. "I know that this is betraying my friends but we are a very stubborn race you know. A Yuki Onna's body can only have children while she is young."

Tsukune was surprised by what he was hearing while Mizore seemed calm despite the fact that she was nervous. She knelt down to watch the flowers closer while saying, "That's why seventeen is coming of age. And once you come of age, you have to start having kids right away." She picked up a flower while tears began welling up in her eyes. "I turn seventeen this year. If right now I lose you, I'll have to make a family with another man. By arranged marriage even." Tsukune was utterly shocked by what he was hearing. "With even someone you don't love?" Tsukune asked in dismay though he already knew the answer.

Mizore replied to him, "To continue our species, we have no choice right? My mom was like that too." She closed her eyes as she said the next words with a low breath, "Although of course, I'd rather take my time and choose with the other girls." She then handed him the picked flower and said, "Please, understand. There's no other way. This is my only choice."

Unlike Dante, Tsukune smelled the flowers by accident and felt a numbing yet relaxing sensation that coursed through his body. _'What…the flower is making me feel…'_

Mizore said with a sad and longing voice, "Tsukune, just for tonight is fine. Please, make me your lover."

Tsukune had no choice in the matter as he was literally under her spell. Mizore continued her somber reply, "The age where snow girls can reproduce is short compared to humans. From mid teens to the mid twenties. Past that, having children becomes pretty much impossible." She continued as she unwrapped her obi. "To preserve our race, the elders then made a law…"Yuki Onna will be of age at seventeen. Those who come of age must, after a formal meeting, be married to a person selected by the province." He obi fell to the floor, leaving her Yukata to clothe her. She had her hands holding her Yukata by the edges as she said, "I turn seventeen this year. I don't have a lot of time left." Mizore blushed heavily through her pale skin as she thought about what she was about to do. It was her only chance and she decided to take it. She swung her arms to the side, revealing her naked body to Tsukune and incidentally, Dante, who didn't enjoy the show for once since it was an act of desperation, not love or lust. The poor girl was just plain scared.

Mizore said with tears in her eyes, "So Tsukune…for just tonight, please make me your lover."

Suddenly, a large red coat was placed over Mizore to cover her up. Mizore looked behind her and saw that it was Dante with concern in his eyes.

"Don't do anything without thinking." Dante said to her as he took the obi from the floor and wrapped it around her to tie up the coat over her. "Wasting away something you find precious to you isn't something you'll be able to live with a clean conscience. Love can wait. All you have to do is pursue it, one step at a time. Have a little faith. Because faith is the first step in love and the first step into the person's heart. That's something I'll never forget from my mother and it's something you should think about." He smiled as he whispered to her left ear, "Don't give up hope just yet. Your courage isn't misplaced."

Dante then picked up his sword that he left on the road and strapped it on his back, using the excess leather straps from his gun holsters that both Tsukune and the wide-eyed Mizore could clearly see.

Mizore suddenly blushed and said, "Wh-were you standing there watching us?"

Dante replied with hands to his hips, "I was busy smelling the flowers until I saw a despaired girl boldly confessing to the love of her life to make her into a woman prematurely. And Tsukune, clean up your nose. Vampires can smell you from eight hundred yards away."

Tsukune suddenly realized that his nose was indeed bleeding from the sudden erotic sight he had just witnessed. He quickly pulled out tissue from his pockets and placed it in his nostrils to clog the blood. With nothing to rattle his emotions and mind, Tsukune said, "Mizore-chan, I don't understand. What do you mean? You have to explain it to me clearly. A law of the province where you have to marry someone you don't love? Are you already under that law Mizore? Why is it just for tonight?"

Dante planted his face in his right hand before replying, "I don't believe this? Were your ears plugged? She already told you, age seventeen means coming of age which also means she's under the law that says that those of seventeen years of age will be married by the province's choosing. If you can't get that right, get this…ARRANGED MARRIAGE. Your people have that too."

Tsukune retorted, "I get it already! I just don't understand. Why?"

Mizore replied, "Tch. You don't need to think about it so much. It's no use right? I can't go against the prophecy of the snow priestess."

Dante replied, "So that's why. You're the prophesied child that supposed to save this land right?"

Mizore replied, "No, but I think that the marriages are decided by her prophecy. The snow priestess is said to have lived over a hundred years and can hear the voice of Kami. This province was also made because of one of her prophecies. If it hadn't, the Yuki Onnas would have gone extinct it seems. Actually, this land is now the last stronghold of the snow women."

Tsukune replied, "But what does that have to do with you?"

Dante replied, "Tsukune has a point. Even if you were prophesied, the future is always subjective."

Mizore shook her head and said, "Even so, nobody disobeys it because in this place, continuing our kind is more important to people than personal romance."

Tsukune replied, "So you think that way too?!"

Mizore replied, "But don't misunderstand. This isn't part of it." She tried to wiggle free but for some reason, the demonic aura on Dante's coat overpowered her and despite her best efforts to get free, she tripped on the heavy coat and Tsukune caught her. Tsukune looked into her eyes and Mizore in turn, looked at his. She said with a blush still on her face, "Tsukune…you're the only one I want to be bound to. This is what I want from the bottom of my heart."

Tsukune didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to this kind of situation. She was desperate but he was too much in shock to understand the weight of the situation alone. However Dante knew full well what to do. He picked up Mizore bridal style and said, "I admire your courage, and your heart for this. But this is going over the top. You've got friends. I suggest you trust them now. Because you're not the only one hurting here and they'll make sure that you remember that for the rest of your life."

Mizore remembered that she left behind the rest of the girls back at her house. She thought about how angry they would be because she was doing something this reckless and it made her sad when she thought about it. In truth, she did care but desperate measures can make desperate people and she was one of them right now.

Tsukune then said to her, "Mizore, I don't understand what you're thinking right now but I can feel that you really don't want to do what you tried to do awhile ago. You don't have to be scared. I'll protect you from this. We'll find a way to convince the snow priestess to let you go. So please, don't cry anymore."

Mizore however felt the tears stream even more with what Tsukune said. She cried in joy and said, "Thank you, Tsukune… Thank you."

But in this pivotal moment, a snowstorm came in and took Mizore from Dante's clutches. The snowstorm then floated a few feet away from them while carrying Mizore. It then began a transformation that turned it's top half into that of a woman with an open yukata who was using her powers of the snow to levitate Mizore so that her body was horizontally in view of the eyes of the woman.

The woman made of snow said, "I've found her. I've been looking a long time…The girl of prophecy."

The woman of snow magically evaporated Mizore's obi into snowflakes, allowing Dante's coat to fall to the ground.

Tsukune then shouted, "Who are you?"

Mizore recognized her though as she fell into the woman's arms. "S…snow priestess?"

Tsukune heard Mizore's words and ran to the snow priestess but tripped in the process. "Wait! Let her go!" He shouted as the snow priestess turned around.

Dante then jumped in front of the snow priestess while taking his coat in the process. He said as he wore it again, "It's about time you showed up. I was wondering if you already froze to death. Ready for a little game?"

The snow priestess said nothing but evaporated into a gale wind along with Mizore. Dante then ranted, "Hide and seek it is then." He then helped up Tsukune as Moka, Kurumu and Yukari arrived on the scene.

"What happened here where's Mizore?" Kurumu replied.

But Yukari found it more odd that Dante was here. "More importantly, why are you here?!"

Dante was about to reply until Tsukune collapsed and fainted. The sudden events including the exhausting smell of the Shira Yuki was too much for his body to handle. And because it happened in the middle of night after their trip from Yokai Academy, you can tell that his human body could only take so much.

"Tsukune!" Moka yelled as she went to him first. Dante helped him over his shoulder and said, "It's alright. He's just exhausted. Let's get him home first. We'll deal with Mizore later."

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Tsukune only saw darkness at the moment until he heard the steaming of a kettle in the background. Everything was beginning to take shape when he opened his unfocused eyes.

"Tsukune…is he…" is what Tsukune heard as he saw three figures looking straight at him. He couldn't tell whose voices they were though.

"Tsukune…" Moka said in concern. Tsukune could now see them clearly and tell that he was somewhere with them. He inclined his neck a bit to see that Moka was sitting by his left with a sleeping Kokoa below her. Across him was Ruby and to his right, were Kurumu and Yukari below her. He then asked them, "Huh? Everyone…where is this?"

Kurumu suddenly embraced him in a bone crushing hug while saying, "Thank Kami! We were so worried Tsukune!"

"Gahh!" was the only thing Tsukune could say at the moment as Kurumu crushed him with her strength. Yukari managed to get her off Tsukune to allow him room to breathe.

Tsukune took a few seconds to catch his breath before realizing what happened earlier. "Mizore-chan…that's right! What happened to Mizore?!"

Moka replied, "Well she's nowhere. When we came along, all we saw was you and Dante-san. What happened?"

Tsukune got up to his right knee and said, "She's been taken!"

Kurumu was confused. "What happened in the flower garden?" Although she asked that, Moka began thinking about who could've taken Mizore and imagined the snow monster that attacked them earlier.

Tsukune sat down Indian style and bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry this happened even though I was with her."

But right after he said those words, Tsurara came in and said, "Yes, I understand. I'm sorry my daughter has inconvenienced you… Yes… ok then."

They turned around to see Tsurara there, talking on her cellphone and it seemed that she had just finished talking too. Tsurara closed the phone and tuck it in her left sleeve. She noticed their confused looks and explained the situation. "Tsukune-san, apparently my daughter being abducted was arranged by the snow priestess." She then faced them and said, "The snow priestess just contacted me. She said that Mizore is under her custody there and that everything is fine."

"Tsurara-san!" they exclaimed when they saw her.

Tsukune was outraged. "Custody?! What the hell for?!"

Tsurara replied, "Yes, when I asked her about that, she said, _'The boy who was with her had taken her clothes off and was attacking her while the man with them waited for his turn.'_

Moka, Kurumu and Yukari had a mental picture of what she was talking about and imagined Tsukune pinning a half naked Mizore down while Dante sat on a rock, smoking a cigarette while only wearing his red trenchcoat.

Kurumu then exclaimed in panic, "Whhhhaaaatttt?!!!!! So she's talking about Tsukune?! What the hell were you doing with her Tsukune?!!"

Tsukune panicked. "Wait! It's really hard to explain!"

Tsurara then loomed behind Tsukune making her cold presence known when she said, "Hehehehe. Will you be kind enough to explain to the mother as well?" She then pressured Tsukune with an 'in-your-face' interrogation. "Anyway...How far did you go with Mizore? You did it? You didn't do it?"

Tsukune began sweating and said with his arms up in a defensive way, "You say 'anyway' and say something like that?! I didn't do it! I swear to Kami I didn't!"

Tsurara then gave him an evil glared and replied in a devilish voice, "You didn't do it?! Why won't you do it you coward!"

"Tsukune said as he shook, "Whhhhaaaatttt?! I'm sorry!!!"

Tsurara then turned around and said as she touched her right cheek with her right hand, "Sheesh…too bad you're still so innocent Tsukune!"

Moka sweatdropped by what just occurred while Kurumu began childishly beating on Tsukune's chest while shedding some tears.

Tsurara knew that something was wrong with this picture as she thought, _'If you think about it, the thing that's strange is the snow priestess. She never shows herself to us so why did she come for Mizore? Why?'_

Yukari looked at the people in front of her and thought, _'Days like this happen often. And just when we were having a good time too.' _But eventually, she was the one who noticed that someone in the group is missing. "Where's Dante-san everyone? Didn't he come in with us awhile ago?"

They stopped what they were doing to realize the same thing. Moka replied, "He was here with us when we came in."

Ruby looked up and said "I remember he brought Tsukune in and then left without saying anything. We were so worried about Tsukune that we forgot about him completely."

Moka then had a flash of an idea and said with surprise, "Wait a minute. Don't tell me…"

Yukari asked her, "Did he go where I think he did?" Moka nodded and said, "It could be. He might have gone to look for her."

Kurumu replied, "Out there in the snow? But there's a snow monster out there that even with the snowball gun we couldn't kill it."

Tsukune replied, "We have to find him. He might be in danger."

Tsurara replied, "So that man went out to find her then. We have nothing to worry about."

Tsukune replied in haste, "But…"

"That man can take care of himself." Tsurara cut in. "He's more reliable than he looks."

Moka then asked her, "Do you know him Tsurara-san?" Tsurara replied, "Everyone who's heard of his deeds have. He's the son of the Legendary Dark Knight, Dante Sparda. The demon who swore revenge upon his own kind to save the humans from the demons' evil ways."

Tsukune couldn't be even more shocked than ever before. He was speechless at this point and so where his friends. Tsukune then muttered, "A demon…saving humans?"

Tsurara said as Dante walked through the snow and light blizzard, "Yes. According to legend, his father was the Legendary Dark Knight who betrayed his demon master and fought against him to protect the human race. He was rumored to have two sons from a human wife before he died which could be partly the reason why he chose to defend them. Most of us thought that it was a mere legend but when one of my friends saw Dante take up his father's mantle and continue his work, it became clear that it was no mere legend." She paused a bit as Dante saw the front of the castle where Mizore was being held. Tsurara continued as Dante opened the doors and entered. "And seeing him in person makes the legend into a known fact. If he's anything like his father, he won't abandon Mizore to someone who he can't trust."

Dante looked at the interior of the building and saw the grand halls and icy stairwells that lead to several rooms and several floors. It was like looking at Buckingham Palace with the furniture and literally everything made of ice. Dante looked around a bit more until he noticed something familiar to his right. It was a gold statue carrying a gold hourglass over its back. He walked to it and thought, _'It's been a while since I saw this thing around. But what is it doing here?' _He then approached it and crossed his arms. _'Since the thing is here, a little upgrade now and then should do.' _He then looked through his pockets till he found and looked at how much red orbs he had. Because he hadn't had a mission as large as this in a while, he accumulated a fairly large amount of orbs by the size they were already. Apparently, the orbs had a tendency to fuse together into one orb, twice the size of his hand. And the deep crimson color that bordered on black indicated that he had a lot fused together. He then thought about what he was going to purchase. _'I've got about ten million orbs now so what do I do with them? Maybe an upgrade of style seems better. Then again, I could always ask for more health and devil power. Wait, I've got. I'll pour in the orbs to my guns and sword. Maximizing my doppelganger ability and quicksilver would be good too. Well it'll be a long time before I see this again so I'll just maximize everything till all my orbs run out. Better buy a few other stuff too.'_

He then brought out the crimson orb and said, "Long time no see old man. I've got a lot of cash here so I'd like you to make a few purchases for me. Don't worry about the cost. I've got plenty where this came from. Just give me the works."

The statue glowed as Dante let go of the red orb to fly and be absorbed into the hourglass where the sands shifted wildly before turning into a deep red color and pass through the hourglass and surround Dante. It then flew through him where it stopped just behind him and back through him and into the hourglass once more where the sand turned yellow. Dante looked at his feet and saw a very large green star, a brightly golden orb, a bright blue orb, a purple one and a tank of holy water the height of his boots. He looked up to the golden statue and said, "Thank you. I'll bring you some more someday." He then picked up the items and stashed it away in his jacket. How he is able to hide so many things there, only Kami knows. He began his search by going through the right most door and looking through the first room in the hallway where six guards in black suits were playing a game of cards around a square table. They didn't notice Dante since they were too busy looking at their hands and the huge pot in the middle. The stakes were high and it was tense. Dante looked over the cards of the nearest guy and saw that he had two jacks, two tens and a two. He then whispered to the guy's ear, "Throw down the two."

The guard nodded and did just that. What he pulled was another jack. The guard smiled and threw down the entire hand for them to see. "Full house boys." The other guards groaned and threw down their hands in defeat while the winner raked in the chips. Dante then asked the guard who just won, "Say buddy, I have a message for the boss. Where is he now?" The guard replied before looking behind him, "He's up in the second floor east wing. You can't miss the room with the big doors." But when he looked to see who it was, he saw the end of Dante's coat before he left the room. The guards quickly got up and ran through the door to see the back of Dante and the sword on his back.

"Oi! Who are you?" the guards quickly pulled out their guns from their pockets and aimed it at Dante. The devil hunter replied, "Took you long enough. I thought you were going to play one more round of cards."

One of the guards moved a bit closer while he had his gun pointed. "Who do you think you are and where are you going. I'm not playing games here. If you make the wrong move, I'll blow your brains out."

Dante replied, "Sorry but the only games I play are slot machine. Because it's the only one that has the…" he suddenly appeared in front of the guard with Ebony and Ivory pointed at both his eyes. "Jackpot." He fired both guns allowing the bullet to pass through the man's eyes and hit two of the guards there in the head in different places on the face. As the guard that Dante fired the first two shots fell to the floor, Dante fired six shots. Three of which intercepted and clashed with the first shots of the guards and the other three hit the guards in between the eyes. Dante holstered his guns when he saw that all six guards died and turned around to return to his route to the stairs.

Of course, the sounds of gunfire alerted other guards and sent them out of their rooms and patrol routes, to the source of the gunshots. Dante then ran forward into the halls while wielding Rebellion in his right hand. Three of the doors ahead opened up with three guards strafing out to fire at him. Dante did a dash and gave the guard in front of him a stinger attack that impaled the guard before the rest of the force pushed him to knock over the other three guards and send them to the other side of the long hallway. Ten guards came out of the rooms and surrounded him from the front while seven in the rear.

Dante then said, "What is this, The Matrix? All of you guys look alike in your black suits and earpieces." But he said no more when they opened fire. Dante however was much quicker and quickly used a doppelganger that faced the enemies behind him. With the doppelganger mimicking his moves, Dante quickly performed a million stab combo and his doppelganger mimicked his movements. His attack combo didn't just shield him from the hail of bullets, but it allowed him to send them back towards the ones who fired them with a much higher velocity and twice the force. The guards were killed by their own bullets and Dante was left without a scratch. He quickly gave a high five to his doppelganger before it disappeared and he ran towards the end of the hallway. He could tell there were stairs ahead but it was heavily guarded by at least twenty-five guards. Dante switched with his twin guns and fired some panic shots that sent the guards to hide by the railings and up the floor allowing Dante to run along the wall of the stairwell while firing two shots. The first shot hit five guards in the head before ricocheting off the railing and back to Dante who's second shot knocked it back in an angle and kill four more guards. Dante reached the peak of his run and jumped into the air and dashed in mid-air, reaching the second floor with ease. One of the guards closest to Dante tried to use the butt of his mp5 to smash Dante's face only for Dante to turn around and parry the attack. The guard tried to attack again while the other guards below him ran up to the second floor. However, that guard's second attempt was thwarted when Dante released a burst of furious flurry through that guard and the other guards below, killing the rest of them. Dante was once again at the bottom of the stairs where five more guards were rushing to the scene with one carrying a rocket launcher and the other four, shotguns.

Dante holstered his guns and said, "C'mon. Give me your best shot." The one with the rocket launcher stopped and fired the rocket at Dante. When the rocket came close enough, he leaped and landed on it and used it as a hover board towards the room at the far end of the second floor. Luckily, there was no one in the way so Dante used it to get to the room where Mizore was being held.

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Mizore blankly stared out the window where she saw a view of her city a few miles ahead as the snow gently rained down. She was like a princess waiting to be rescued by the prince. But for her, there was no real need to be rescued since it was her fate. She sat there waiting on nobody.

Suddenly, the door to her room opened allowing a man in a collared, black coat with brushed back black hair to enter with a cup of coffee in his right hand. "It's a beautiful place…you think so too don't you?"

Mizore snapped from her stupor to see the man who entered and locked the door behind him. This man was named, Miyabi Fujisaki. She was told to be wed to this man in exchange for the survival of her people. It was a destined marriage according to the prophet's prophecy. She wasn't sure about this man yet despite the word of law. He looked like an upstanding man but there was something else. She didn't stand a chance to oppose him if necessary but he looked like he wouldn't hurt anybody because he was too focused on his business to do something appalling. Either way, he was just a sore thumb in the melancholy she was in.

Miyabi said to her after he took a sip of coffee, "A perfectly controlled society. Under the name of prophecy, a relationship of total obedience built around the snow priestess… There is a perfect structure here." He continued with a heavy look in his eyes, "I like things that are perfect. So I want this land any way I can get it."

Mizore was shocked by what he said. From a regular businessman to suddenly a tycoon with an ambitious heart was something to get worried about. _'He wants this land? This guy, just what is he aiming to do?'_

Miyabi walked towards her to look out the window where he placed his cup of coffee to sit by the windowsill. The cold man said to her as he viewed his city to be, "Once you become my wife, if you are unperfect it would displease me. Character…looks…First of all, could you quit with that candy in your mouth? It's not charming."

Mizore was speechless by his cold conduct. Miyabi continued, "Snow girls are weak to heat so they lick those things to cool their body don't they? But in a cold place like this, you don't need a thing like that do you?"

Mizore removed it from her mouth and looked at the lollipop with nostalgia. _'Don't need…no…now this is a symbol of the time spent with Tsukune. Somewhere along the line it became like a…' _She shut her eyes as the memories of her friends imprinted on her mind. _'No…I don't want to be with this guy…I…I…'_

But she didn't notice that Miyabi was close to her and he pressed his lips on hers. It wasn't forceful since he had her by surprise. It was a light kiss so he departed as quickly as he came on and said, "There's such a cold feeling…Your lips… There's nothing to worry about. I won't do anything bad to you or this place." Though he said that, his face and eyes had that of a cold, domineering person.

But unlike the dominating person that Miyabi was, Mizore on the other hand was shedding tears at having her first kiss taken from her by a man she now feared. The intense fear she had welling up inside of her for at least five days began to break her and because of this, she didn't understand what was going on until she realized that she was on top of the bed in the room with Miyabi on top of her.

"Y-yamero! Onegai…matte…" she yelled but Miyabi began touching her, starting with her left breast and then her legs but her struggling made it hard for him to really control her. Mizore felt defiled and helpless against this man. She wanted to cry for help but no one was there. The man had full control of her in her fear-induced state and the confusion and weight on her shoulders made her helpless in more ways than one. She tried hard to resist but found no strength in her as he touched her without remorse nor regret, Mizore thought in despair, _'No..no..I'm…Tsukune and I are…help…Tsukune…Tsukune! Somebody…somebody help me!!'_

And when things went gloomy, they heard someone from outside the door scream, "Wooohooo!!!!!!" just before the door was blasted apart and Dante flew in and landed just in front of the window. He took a sip of the coffee before putting it back down and saying, "Decaf without sugar. Not my taste." He then faced their surprised and in Miyabi's case, angry faces and said, "Princess, it is I, prince charming here to rescue you from the villain."

Miyabi got up and faced him while impassively saying, "And who are you? I don't recall inviting anyone here."

Dante replied, "I'm here to save the girl from pedophiles like you. She's seventeen and what you're doing right now is considered rape so keep your hands off her."

Miyabi walked towards him and said, "Well it doesn't matter. The snow priestess gave me a valuable hostage in exchange for this land so no one can save her. And after I take this land under my control, I'll break her into an obedient pet and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Dante didn't move right away since a guard managed to creep up behind him and point a 9mm at his head. But what made matters worse was that the gun's trajectory also pointed to Mizore so doing anything at this moment was stupid.

Mizore was teary eyed for she felt like filth after being molested by the cold man who stopped her only hope for escape. Mizore understood what Miyabi meant by hostage and she felt even more guilty than before. But when she saw Miyabi pull away Dante's sword from him, she felt devastated.

Miyabi looked at the shiny and heavy blade. It was too heavy for him to really swing it so the best he could do is lift it with both hands. He gave an evil grin to Dante and said, "Hahahaha. A sword fit for a king. Thank you for giving me the perfect gift to rule this land. And it looks sharp despite its design."

Dante replied, "I keep it clean everyday. Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking her out of here."

But Miyabi then stabbed the sword into Dante's heart until the hilt was touching his now bloody chest. Mizore watched in horror and bit her hand to calm herself down as Dante staggered a bit before Miyabi pulled Dante aside so that the window was behind the wounded hunter. The guard then opened the window to allow the cold air to bite down on Dante's pain filled body as Miyabi held on the sword's handle and placed his right foot on Dante's chest. He then kicked Dante out the window while pulling the sword out, allowing blood to gush out on the windowsill, a bit of the floor and on Miyabi's coat as Dante fell to the snowy ground.

Mizore couldn't find her voice because of what she witnessed. Dante did not have to die for her nor did she asked to be rescued. She looked at the bloody sword in Miyabi's hand and thought as the guard closed the window, _'This is all my fault. If I wasn't such a moron, none of this would have happened. And now, I don't deserve to live. I'm dirty and Dante died because I'm such a useless person. Baka….baka…Mizore…anata baka….'_

She rushed to Miyabi's side and quickly grabbed onto the bloody sword and tried to pull it away from his grip. She struggled to pull it away but Miyabi held her by her other hand and threw her to the bed while glaring at her menacingly. He then held her face with a vice grip with his left hand and said, "You are too disobedient that it's irritating. But don't worry. We can change that. I always get what I want. ALWAYS."

He then let her go and said to the guard as he handed the sword, "Clean this up and don't let her out of here until she needs to attend the ceremony."

The guard took the sword and said, "What about the body of that man?"

Miyabi replied, "Get rid of him as well. I don't want his blood to stain this place. Make sure that nothing remains from him."

The guard nodded and Miyabi walked out the door and locked it behind him. Mizore felt too worthless to neither walk out the door nor end her life by jumping out the window. She stayed inside the now locked room as despair dragged her heart down further.

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Tsukune, Yukari, Kokoa, Ruby, Kurumu and Moka rushed towards the castle of the snow priestess to catch up to Dante. Despite Tsurara's warning, they didn't want to leave a friend behind and Dante being there already meant they had to rush to his aid as quickly as possible.

When the castle was in sight, Yukari shouted, "There it is!"

They hurried to the castle's entrance only to see a white haired man lying in the snow a few feet away from the entrance. They weren't sure who it was until they noticed the red coat he wore, making them rush to the scene.

They ran towards the fallen form of the man in the snow until they were just one step away from him. But the sight wasn't to behold and Moka made that known when she screamed at seeing blood and a large stab wound on Dante's chest as well as his unblinking eyes.

Moka grabbed on to Tsukune while Yukari and Kurumu couldn't believe their eyes.

Ruby kept calm about the situation and quickly kneeled down in front of Dante and looked at the wound before shaking her head and shutting his eyes.

Kokoa on the other hand, wasn't as calm and said, "All that talk about him being a devil hunter is a load of crap. How can you call yourself a devil hunter if you die like a dog anyway!"

Tsukune replied with his head bowed, "That's enough Kokoa-chan." Everyone looked at Tsukune and saw the deep regret in his eyes. "This was my fault to begin with. If I just protected Mizore…none of this would happen. He would still be alive and Mizore would still be with us…" He then clenched his fists as rage built up in him to the point that his vampiric blood awakened and his eyes became blood red and slit.

They looked at Tsukune and knew what he wanted to do. Tsukune faced them and said, "Let's rescue Mizore and stop them."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice call out to them. "Hey, spare some for me."

They looked behind them and saw that it was Dante who sat up as if nothing happened. They couldn't believe their eyes and Kurumu said as she pointed to Dante, "Wait a minute! Y-y-you were supposed to be dead!"

Dante replied as he got up, "Like a little boo boo is actually going to hurt."

Ruby replied as she got up, "But how? The wound looks to be more than twelve inches deep and five inches wide!" Dante replied as he stretched his arms, "Oh, that. The ringleader stabbed me with my own sword but he won't give it back."

Moka was confused. "I don't understand. You were stabbed in the heart and yet you survived?"

Dante looked at where the bloodstain was and saw that the wound had closed up as if nothing happened. They saw this and were amazed. Yukari had a brainstorm from what she saw and remembered what she read on demons. "This must be the power of the demon blood in his veins."

"Demon blood?" Kurumu asked.

Yukari replied, "Yes. Like a vampire, demons have high regeneration. It must be the demon blood flowing through his veins that allows him to heal so fast that he can still live again from the brink of death."

Kokoa said to Yukari, "But demons and vampires have a gap between them. Not even the strongest of noble vampires can match up to a demon when they are at the level of immortals." _'Dante…who are you?'_

Dante looked at them as if they were statues since they were ignoring him. "So, are we going to rescue the princess or do I have to go there alone again?

Tsukune replied, "We'll rescue her together. Mizore is our friend. And this time, I will save her and bring her back to the academy with us."

Dante replied, "You're pretty cool yourself for a human. Although, you'll need to be ready to fight because these guys are armed and dangerous."

Kurumu replied, "We didn't come here unprepared." They then brought out snowball guns from their coats and cocked it in preparation for the battle to come. The snowball guns were of the machine gun class that looked like a grenade launcher with a metal stock, and a straight magazine with the clip being four inches wide and five and one quarter inches tall. Dante whistled and said, "Snowball guns. Tsurara-san must've lent it to you guys from her collection. Not bad. These should put them down for a while."

Tsukune sweatdropped and asked, "Um, Dante-san, you said that the ring leader has your sword. How are you going to fight?" _'Although he looks like he can tear people apart without it. That sword he had, was almost as tall as he was and it looked really heavy. He must be really strong to swing that thing around. He's definitely not human.'_

Dante then pulled out Ebony and Ivory from his holsters and said as he held them up to face the air, "I think I can handle myself. Listen, we'll all go in at once. They've got guards behind the door. When I give the signal, I'll kick down the door and give covering fire so that you can rush in. Mizore is being held in the last room, east wing, second floor. It has double doors so it's not hard to miss."

They nodded and all stuck to the wall beside the front door like a squad of marines ready for breeching. Dante stood in front of the door as he had is guns in his hands and kept them at his sides. They waited until they heard and saw the doorknobs turning. When the doors opened a little and Dante could see a portion of the guards' faces, he quickly jumped and kicked the door back. The doors flew back and broke from their hinges to land on top of the guards and Dante on top of the doors, lying down, face up. But because of the force of Dante's breeching method, the doors and guards continued their momentum forward, taking Dante with them. And a good thing too. By the stairs and all over the lobby, were guards, poised and ready to fire at the entrance. When they saw how Dante entered, they couldn't aim at him properly so their shots missed but Dante fired back with perfect aim as he used his makeshift sled to move forward before doing a backflip to a summersault and firing in mid-air at the guards. He killed fifteen out of the twenty guards present from those two gunfire volleys before landing on his two feet on the floor. He then crossed his arms so that both guns aimed at diagonally upward and he fired two shots. Both bullets hit the angles of the walls in a way the balls of a pool table would when hit and the bullets ricocheted to kill the remaining five guards in the same manner as the balls of a pool table would as it crossed the table before falling into the pockets.

Dante holstered his guns and said, "Okay kids. Run while I'm covering you."

But the entire group from yokai academy were jawdropped and had saucers for eyes with what they had just witnessed. They all thought in unison, _'He already covered everything!'_

Dante looked around and said, "Now to get back my sword." But Dante didn't have to as

Miyabi walked out from the door to the left and entered the lobby. Dante turned to face him and said, "So you've finally showed up. Did you run out of henchmen?"

Miyabi saw Dante and was surprised. He was sure that he killed him but to see Dante alive again made the man re-think his next plan of actions. Miyabi stopped and said, "I assume that you aren't just another yokai. What do you really want here?"

Dante replied, "Okay, since you didn't hear me last time, I'll just repeat myself…I'm taking Mizore and my sword back with me." Miyabi was not happy. Dante was alive, almost all of his men are dead, and Mizore was still disobedient. At this rate, things would escalate and they would lose their hold on the land of snow and control over the snow priestess.

The Yokai Academy group entered the lobby and Kurumu demanded, "Where is Mizore!"

Miyabi calmly replied, "She's still tired after all that's happened. Having her heart and body stolen from her by a certain man has exhausted her."

The group from yokai academy were devastated beyond belief. Tears welled up in Kurumu's eyes and Moka held her mouth with her left hand while Tsukune dropped to his knees.

"It's not true, right? Everything is lost…" Tsukune said with a sad tone.

Dante chuckled and said, "Really now? You did all that in the ten seconds I was out? With her fighting attitude and ice abilities, the best you could do is get your you-know-what frozen off. Not good for the ladies if you ask me."

Miyabi was irritated by Dante's senseless rant. But the fact he didn't show it meant that he was in control or so it seems. Kurumu quickly went up to Miyabi and held him up with both hands while her gun hung from the sling on her.

Yukari said to her, "Kurumu-san!!!?? Stop!"

Dante tried to calm the succubus down. "Relax. He didn't do anything. I stopped him before he could try anything. Although he did managed to hurt me and send me crashing through a window before you guys showed up."

The group was a bit perplexed. They couldn't read between the lines until Dante made it clear for them. Tsukune had a glimmer of hope in his eyes and said, "So Mizore is…"

"She's fine." Dante replied. "But this guy won't be. I don't have my sword, but with my dancing, he'll wish I had it."

Kurumu then threw Miyabi to the ground, cracking it. She quickly aimed her gun at him and said, "I like the sound of that." But Miyabi suddenly appeared behind her, with the gun in his hand. Kurumu was about to turn around to hit him when Dante suddenly gave Miyabi a flying kick that sent him to Tsukune's direction. Tsukune stood up with fire in his gut and punched Miyabi in the face with his right hand, allowing Miyabi to drop the gun and send him skidding on the floor towards the wall where he stopped, leaving a destruction groove the size of his body and a trail to show who sent him that way.

Miyabi stood up groggily and said, "Such power…if I hadn't been 'charmed' I would have died already."

Dante looked at Miyabi's now torn suit and saw an armband on his right arm. The armband had several writings on it and an ornate design of magical origin. Thanks to Dante's keen eyes, he was able to see what was written…**ENSIS**. Dante smirked and said, "This just made my day. Nifty accessory you got there. I'm guessing you got that from an acquaintance of the corporation who sold it to you. Am I missing a connection here?"

Miyabi looked at his armband before saying, "So you know about Ensis. I was wondering why a high level demon like you would be around these people. But if you're looking for them, you are looking in the wrong place. I needed men and they provided me a great service in exchange for some funds. They gave me this armband as an extra with the purchase. But it looks like the armband is the only thing they had of worth since you easily took care of most of them. That is something I can't ignore."

Dante loosened his arms and said, "Well said. That makes this a lot easier. Let's rock!"

He then jumped and teleported right in front of Miyabi, catching him off guard. Dante gave him a square kick to the jaw, sending him upward. While still in mid-air, Dante leaped up and gave Miyabi a set of side kicks both left and right to Miyabi's jaw before giving him a summersault kick that sent him flying back. Dante quickly dashed in mid-air and gave Miyabi an aerial soccer kick that sent Miyabi crashing into the ground and dealing damage on the flooring. Dante landed and said as he faced Miyabi, "Score!"

The group from yokai academy were shocked once again. Ruby thought as she watched on, _'Each one of those attacks were enough to kill a vampire. There's no way that man would survive.'_

But indeed, Miyabi did. He got up and felt the after shock of Dante's attacks. The charm he was given absorbed most of the punishment but did little to prevent his teeth from rattling. Some blood dripped from Miyabi's mouth, showing that it did hurt him more than necessary. Dante dashed towards Miyabi and gave him three, solid punches before sending a right, axe kick to his head only for Miyabi to block it with a cross guard. Miyabi pushed Dante's leg up and back sending Dante off balanced allowing him to get inside Dante's guard and send a right back fist to his right cheek that Dante quickly parried with his right arm before jumping a little back and regaining his balance. Miyabi went inside his guard again to give him a right hook, which Dante ducked under only to see Miyabi's left leg coming at him. Dante parried the attack downwards and rolled to the right before jumping and teleporting in front of Miyabi. The evil man then moved to the left side of Dante and placed his left leg behind Dante's left and shifted his body left while pushing Dante down with his left hand. Dante followed the movement and grabbed on to Miyabi's left arm with both hands so that his body was close to Miyabi's arm and he then lifted both legs up and grabbed on to Miyabi's sholder with them, forcing Miyabi to follow through a bit and bend over despite his steady stance. Dante then let go of his arm bar and quickly placed them behind his head to steady his hand stand as he turned and twisted his body, sending Miyabi crashing to the ground once more before Dante let go of his leg hold and backflipped so that he was standing on two feet again. Of course, Miyabi stood up once more and was now coughing out blood and his now strained eyes told that he could not handle more punishment as indicated by the short circuiting armband on his right arm.

Moka noticed this and said, "The armband is losing its power. Dante has won this fight."

Kokoa pumped up her fist and said, "Finish him off!"

Dante replied, "You guys better not watch this part. Mizore may be saved physically, but she's not yet saved emotionally. I can't help there. But you guys can."

Tsukune nodded and said as he turned to the door leading to the east wing, "Arigato, Dante-san. We'll take care of Mizore." The rest of the yokai academy group followed Tsukune, allowing Dante to play with his opponent as he pleases. When he heard the door to the east wing, shut behind him, Dante smirked and said, "Now that your shield is down, you're naked to any attack I make. I hope you don't mind if I practice a few moves I learned from playing Street Fighter on the new console that Trish just bought at my expense."

Miyabi said as he held his throat, "W-why? This power…whyy am I feeling this pain..AAAAGGHH!!!!" Miyabi's armband tightened around his arm and began feeding him immense power at the cost of his life and blood. The power surged into his right arm and grew it out of proportion to a size the hulk would be proud of. Miyabi lost his mind as the power ate through his brain until he was a mindless. Dante saw what the armband was doing and knew that he had the upper hand.

"Hmmm." Dante said. "'Ugly on the inside' is now ugly on the outside. This just gets better and better!" Miyabi responded by sending his right fist towards Dante who put his arms in a cross maneuver before sending a wave of demonic energy that sped him up so that everything looked like it was in slow motion. Dante then sent a wave of furious, rage induced flurry at Miyabi who felt the pain at over a thousand times the speed with the same amount of force. The constant flurry sent Miyabi hovering slightly from the impact of the strikes until he was high enough in the air to be over Dante's head. Dante finished the blows as the slow motion ended and then crouched down before giving and uppercut to Miyabi above him while saying, "Shoryuken!" Dante's uppercut was three inches short but he didn't mind because he created a clone at that instant to follow up the punch. The clone gave the rising punch and continued the flurry of attacks at the same time while Miyabi rose to the ceiling. The attack combo ended and Miyabi hit the ceiling. The clone ended its attack and fell back into Dante who said as Miyabi descended, "I've always wanted to say that. But there's another thing I've always wanted to say as well." Miyabi hit the ground behind Dante and the impact created a smoke cloud. As the smoke swept and surrounded them, Dante said, "K.O." when the smoke subsided, Dante turned to face the fallen form of Miyabi and gave him a thumbs down while saying, "Dante Wins."

Miyabi was so battered and beaten up that you could barely recognize him. Dante turned around and walked towards the east door until he heard Miyabi's breath. He quickly pulled out Ivory and turned around and fired one round on Miyabi's head, finally killing the monster. Dante quickly holstered the weapon and turned around to see that the entire group had just ran to the scene with Mizore, now finally part of the group. Dante noticed that her eyes had light in them this time so he smiled slightly and said, "Are you alright now, ojou-chan?"

Mizore looked over to see what looks like the literal pile of human trash that was Miyabi. She returned her gaze to Dante and nodded. Dante then asked her, "With you no longer in distress, where's the snow priestess?"

The group wondered about that and Dante said, "Well, we can't stick around now can we? Let's get at the bottom of this thing fast." They agreed and Mizore said, "The last time I saw her, she was in the throne room." Mizore led the way and they entered the throne room where they saw the priestess being restrained by four guards, she didn't look like she was struggling but one must not take chances. The group from Yokai Academy aimed their guns at the four guards but Moka said to them, "No, you might hit the snow priestess."

The guards noticed them and one guard held the snow priestess hostage while the other guards pulled out sub machine guns and opened fire. The group from Yokai Academy spread out and ducked for cover while Dante just pulled out his two guns and intercepted the bullets sent his way using his own as he opened fire. Tsukune saw this and said, "He's intercepting the bullets with his own guns! What is this guy?"

Dante noticed that the guard holding the priestess hostage had his sword and was using it to make sure she wasn't going to try anything. Dante then side rolled to the left before running up one of the pillars and kicking off it to fire two shots. One to knock off the sword from the guard's hand, and two, to take him out via headshot. It happened as planned since the guards were blinded by the bright chandeliers on the ceiling that Dante used as his cover. The sword flew from the guards hands and Dante holstered his guns and picked up the sword in mid-air. He then did an air dash towards the guards and was directly above him. Dante then aimed his sword downward and landed on the guards shoulders and gave him a roman soldier's death—a stab wound to the spine from the bottom of the nape. He pulled out his sword as the guards in front faced him. Dante leaped off that guard and landed on the guard in the center and gave him a gladiator's death—a stab wound to the end of the throat where the blade reached his heart. Dante pushed the blade all the way down so that the sword stuck to the floor, allowing Dante to use the handle as a pole for him to swing around it at high speeds and kick his opponents using the force of the momentum before leaping off and landing so that he was facing the students of Yokai academy while the sword was in front of him. The guards surrounding Dante during that attack were kicked hard and flew to the pillars in a spinning motion where they hit the pillars and bounced off them back to Dante who pulled out the sword and spun to the left, grabbing the guard to his left with his left hand and in the same motion, pulling in the guard from the right into the same momentum, before letting go of them when he stopped his three hundred sixty degree turn. The guards were still in the air temporarily until Dante then gave them a million stab combo before ending the attack with one thrust that pushed the red smoke that was their blood forward before dispersing into the atmosphere. Dante then rested his sword over his shoulders while the students of Yokai Academy were jawdropped once again. Mizore sweatdropped and said, "Did he really have to go that far?"

The snow priestess finally found her breath and said, "The Legends were true then. You are definitely his son."

Dante sheathed his sword on his back and said, as he faced the priestess, "All in a days work. There's no need to bring up the family business."

The group approached Dante and Kurumu said with joy, "Yahoo! You really kicked their butts! You have to teach me how to do that!"

Yukari nodded and said, "That was really cool. You defeated them before they could blink!"

Kokoa crossed her arms and said, "Onee-sama can do eighty times better than that."

Moka smiled and said, "Mo…I can't do any of that."

Despite the various comments on the battle, there was one last battle that needed to be fought. Mizore approached the snow priestess and said with firm confidence, "Snow Priestess…I also like the village and want to do what I can to help it but…just a bit more. Please just give a little bit more time."

Kurumu said with joy, "Mizore!" Yukari added, "Desu! Because Mizore will…" Kurumu said as she embraced Mizore from behind, "Definitely be returning to the academy with us!"

The Snow Priestess suddenly vomited out a spirit that looked like a snowman with a jester's muffler that floated over them. It was Jack Frost, the source of the snow priestess' powers. The spirit spoke, "I am the great Jack Frost. This ectoplasm is the embodiment of the priestess' 'prophecy ability'. In other words, I'm the one who is always telling the priestess what the future holds. And this is my prophecy to you… _the organization will invade the village. The alliance is the only way. But, there is more at stake. The organization is only a pawn of another King. Even if the deal with fairy tail has failed, they will attack and a rain of blood will flow from both sides. But they will draw first blood._"

The spirit then returned into the snow priestess and Dante said to them, "I've seen worse but that one really leaves an impression."

Tsukune, however, was confused by this new development. "Alliance? What does this mean? What is Fairy Tail and why are they after this land?"

Dante replied, "Fairy Tail is the complete opposite of yokai academy from what I've learned from Tsurara-san. The man Miyabi was their lead representative and in order to save this land, the snow priestess handed over Mizore, the chosen child to be the bargaining chip to the invaders. But the alliance, I have no clue."

The snow priestess began to collapse so Mizore quickly held her by the shoulders, stopping her fall. The snow priestess said to Mizore with an apologetic voice, "I am alright. All of you have done enough. Fairy Tail's lead representative has been defeated."

Dante said to them, "I'll take care of the snow priestess. All of you should return to Tsurara's house and rest. There won't be any more fighting for a while."

Tsukune nodded and said, "It's finally over." With that, they left with ease now in their hearts. They returned to their rooms and slept like logs from exhaustion. They weren't used to action right after they got roughly three hours of sleep. But all is well and they slept through the heavy things of this predicament and Dante followed back shortly to rest as well.

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Morning had come and the new day was brought up with the smiling sun shining down on the land of snow. The group had awakened at the crack of dawn and waited by their bus just on the outskirts of the land of snow. The battle for now was won and they had a chance to head home.

Tsurara and the Snow Priestess waited outside the bus alongside the group of Yokai Academy and Dante. The Snow Priestess said with an apologetic tone, "I am deeply grateful. I still don't know whether or not our fight with Fairy Tail is over but even so, today in the village, nobody is worrying. It is a different peace compared to yesterday."

They all gave one last look at the village with the sun shining right behind it to give it a luminescent yet transparent glow that only ice can show. It was like watching a newly polished diamond reflecting the noontime sun. It was just magnificent. The snow priestess sighed and said, "This is the view of the thing that you have protected. You are this village's saviors."

Moka shook her head and said as she faced Dante, "No…the real hero isn't us but Dante who nearly died to save Mizore and this city even if he was not a part of this."

Dante turned around and said as he got on the bus, "I'm not the hero. I just did what I believed I should have done…protected all of you."

Ruby quickly got on the bus as well and said, "It's about time for us to head back."

Kurumu sighed as she whined, "In the end, we couldn't attend the ceremony. I really wanted Tsukune to see me dressed up."

Tsurara said to her with a pleasant smile, "Don't worry. We will have the ceremony after Mizore graduates so that it becomes an event to never forget. You can all attend during that day if you wish."

Kurumu jumped up and down while saying, "Yahoo! Tsukune, let's go on that day!"

Yukari then pulled Kurumu inside the bus by her hair while saying, "Hai, hai desu."

Tsukune and Moka walked towards the bus together with Mizore just behind them. But before Mizore could take another step, the snow priestess said, "Shirayuki, Mizore, I harmed you for the sake of the village." Mizore turned her head to face them and said, "Snow Priestess…" the snow priestess replied, "There is still one more thing that needs to be said…" she rolled up the sleeve of her right hand and showed an eerily glowing flame of white. The flame ascended into an astral form of Jack Frost who said, "_Be careful. They are dangerous. I feel they have a special destiny. They've done more than just save this village. Yes, they have a destiny that will move the whole world. I won't say that bad things won't happen if you are with them…"_ Jack Frost returned to the glove and the white flame dissapeared. Mizore walked on and said, "That doesn't concern me. This has taught me an important lesson. Precious things…being firm about yourself…That's all I want to protect. Things like destiny don't concern me."

The snow priestess replied as she waved goodbye alongside Tsurara, "Mizore…well then, look after yourself. You're futures are shining brightly."

Mizore got on the bus and said to the two before the doors closed, "Ah, I'm off for now."

The bus driver shifted the gears and drove the bus into the tunnel as everyone took their seats. It was still early morning so everyone else took a nap aside from the bus driver, Dante and Mizore. When everyone was fast asleep, Mizore moved from her seat and sat beside Dante. They watched as Dante looked out the window while Mizore stared forward. Silence took place for a full minute until Mizore spoke up. "I'm sorry…for earlier."

Dante replied, "It's nothing. I'm just glad that you're safe." Mizore pulled out a lollipop from her pocket, unwrapped it and placed it in her mouth. She said to him, "Why did you try to save me?" Dante replied, "When the weight of many, falls on the shoulders of one, sometimes it's best to drop it off on someone else who can carry the rest of the burden. That and I hate so see another woman cry because devils never cry."

Mizore sweatdropped and said, "That didn't make any sense." Dante placed his arms behind his head and said, "It will if you stay with me long enough." Dante suddenly remembered what he had forgotten to do and quickly stood up and said, "Hey bus driver, can you take us to a nearby hospital and drop me off at Mahora Academy? It's my last stop."

The bus driver shifted gears and said, "No problem." The driver then turned on the radio and _**Deep in your Heart **_by Domoto Koichi began playing. The bus driver chuckled a little as Dante sat down. The bus driver replied, "It looks like we won't see the academy for a while. This will be a new change of pace."

**|02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|02|02||02|02|02|**

Yeah…Not much to say aside from wanting to see Recca and Mikagami fight Broly.

Barkeep: Where on earth are you going to see crap like that?

MUGEN. It's a cool game. It also means infinity in Japanese.

Barkeep: Is it just me or are you getting more random?

My head hurts. I'm not feeling good. (Barfs all over the counter making the barkeep blow up in anger.)

(Dante walks in the bar.)

Dante: I'm done for the day…(He plugs his nose)Ugh, I just lost my appetite. I'll come back when this place doesn't stink more than my bathroom.

You do that. I'm sleeping. Ja matta.


	3. Secret Mission 03: Dante! Magister Magi

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Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

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A/N: (Wakes up after a long nap.) Hey everyone. I just woke up today….Why am I beside a trashcan? (Walks back into the bar.)

Barkeep: Finally. I've been getting phone calls all morning and they all want to speak with you.

Must be the cast of this story. Luckily, I wrote the script while I was asleep. Tell them I'm sending it right away.

Barkeep: That's the thing. They're already here.

(Looks behind me to see Dante with sunglasses.) I take it you need this?

Dante: (quickly takes the script and runs out.)

Oh well. I hope you enjoy the next event in this story. (Walks to a nearby couch and sits down, facing the TV.) Will you do the honors?

Barkeep: (Picks up the remote and aims it at the TV.) 5…4…3…2…1….(pushes the on button.) Let the story begin!

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 03: **_Dante?! Magister Magi_

**|03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|**

The white bus passed through another tunnel as the current song in the bus just finished. The tunnel they entered was not just another passageway of stone and shadows but rather, one of magic and mystery as flashing streaks of lightning in different colors, blazed towards the direction the bus was passing through.

The group from Yokai Academy plus Dante was fast asleep during the entire trip into this tunnel. They had a few minutes of rest before they would reach their destination and used as much time as they could to rest and take it easy.

Everyone slept peacefully including Dante who slept leaning on the window of the bus. He was seated just behind the bus driver just in case of accidents where a driver's instincts takes over. But he wasn't alone though. Mizore was seated just at his right and she too was fast asleep, leaning her head on his right shoulder. Whether by intention or by accident, she was in that state, unknown to all except for the bus driver who kept at his steady pace on the wheel.

Yet one cannot remain truly asleep forever and Dante woke up first though he didn't open his eyes right away. He quickly moved and positioned Mizore back in her seat before opening his eyes and looking around to notice that the bus had stopped and was parked in the parking area of a hospital. The stylish devil hunter then rose from his seat and carefully made his way past Mizore and towards the front without alerting the other sleeping passengers. The bus driver reflexively pressed the button on his left to open the doors of the bus. Dante walked out of the bus and into the hospital using the backdoor entrance of the building. He quickly went over to the reception when he entered the building and asked the nurse where a certain friend of his was and the nurse replied, "Ishikawa-sensei is just across the room. He's in room five." Dante took no time for pleasantries and marched down to room five. He knocked politely and opened the door to see a white haired old man in a doctor's attire, seated down in front of a desk, looking down the lens of a microscope. His hair was gelled back but noticeably thin due to age.

Dante quietly closed the door and sat down on the seat beside the doctor's left and placed his right elbow on the desk and rested his head on his right hand. The doctor adjusted the mirror of the microscope and said without looking away, "You again? You're not even a patient and here you are."

Dante sat up straight and said as he looked at the bookshelf on the desk, "Hey, chill out will ya? Maybe one of these days I might be lying down on one of those beds and you'd be my doctor."

Ishikawa-sensei replied as he observed the specimen on his microscope, "The day that happens, your chances of living will be directly proportional to how much you can pay. So what do you need this time?"

Dante replied, "Blood. Preferably fresh and ice cold. Do you have any to spare?"

The doctor then took his eyes away from the microscope to look Dante in the eyes. The old man's deadpanned look contrasted with Dante's knowing smile. Ishikawa-sensei crossed his arms and his left leg over his right as he leaned on his chair and said, "I see. What do you need the blood for?"

Dante replied, "Maybe I need it for a dying relative or my pet dog. But specifically, the need isn't as important as the benefit."

The doctor narrowed his eyes a little and said, "So you want to trade blood for money. I understand that you have your reasons but the fact you aren't answering me directly makes me wonder why. We may be friends but even our friendship has its limits."

Dante replied with a cool face, "Hey, don't be such a spoilsport. You're practically acting like my brother right now."

The doctor stood up and said as he walked to the dresser to his right, "Well you don't take my words very seriously so I might look that way to you. Five years and only now do I find out that you have a brother. Not that it bothers me." he then opened the first dresser and took out a black key with the word 'storage' written on it and handed it to Dante. The doctor said as he faced Dante, "I have a patient to look after so once you're done, leave it with nurse Akira— the one at the reception you passed by earlier."

Dante nodded and said, "No problem. And thank you again." As Dante began walking towards the door, Ishikawa-sensei said to him, "Dante, I have a party with some friends tonight. If you're not busy, you should stop by the Mercado."

Dante opened the door and said, "Maybe next time. I'll be busy working overtime at my usual job."

The doctor asked as Dante continued walking through the halls, "How much do they pay you?" Dante said without looking, "Enough to buy me a lifetime supply of pizza ten times over." Dante paced forward towards the storage room while the good doctor continued towards the opposite direction without a second thought.

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In another town close to Tokyo, the pink haired girl named Amu sat by a bench near the corner of the street. She was wearing a black and red stripped long-sleeved shirt underneath a brown paparazzi's jacket, a red-checkered miniskirt, black stockings, brown boots and the same colored gloves and a white and blue cap. She may not look like a fashion statement like her usual outfit, but she needed to look as conspicuously as possible for the job she was about to pull. Luckily she had three Shugo Charas to act as her conscience throughout the entire ordeal.

Ran hovered a little to meet Amu's tired face along with Miki and Su. They were concerned by what they just heard their master tell them last night. Ran decided to ask Amu again concerning the matter. "Amu-chan, is there no other way?"

Amu gripped the edge of her skirt as she looked down and said with a heavy atmosphere around her, "If I don't do this, more people will die. But at the same time, Papa and Mama and Ami will find out what's going on."

Miki nodded and said, "But if you fail at whatever she wants you to do, they would have to pay for the car you blew up."

Amu lowered her head a little. And to make things worse, Su then chipped in and said, "But it's so nice of Amu-chan to risk her life to save Riiko-san from debt, the world being destroyed by demons and her parents from having to pay in Amu-chan's place."

Amu felt even more pressured and lowered her head even more while saying, "I can feel myself drift away from here…" Amu's soul comically rose up and the three Shugo Charas tried to calm her down. By the time Amu calmed down, she then took out her phone from her jacket and checked the time. It was eight in the morning and Amu had to skip class and her responsibility as the joker today just for this mission.

The pink haired girl was a bit irritated and said to herself, "Riiko-san said that she would be here by seven. What's taking her so long?" and just as she thought that, she heard a low humming noise coming from her left. She was curious about it and heard it get louder and closer to her position. The girl looked towards the source and noticed a black and white Nissan Crew headed towards her at a speed that said there wasn't a chance of stopping. Amu looked on a little longer and when she could see who was driving in the front, her mouth dropped open and she said, "I-Is that Riiko-san?!"

Riiko was driving at full speed with her boyfriend, Night, beside her. The teenager's boyfriend had a panicked look on her face while she shared the same expression as she lost control of the vehicle. Night yelled to Riiko, "Riiko, brake, brake!!!"

Rikko stepped on the brake and reflexively turned the wheel to the right until the wheel reached its maximum turning point. She had no idea what she was doing and forgot to shift gears so instead, she pulled up the E-brake and screamed as the car spun around before stopping in a way that car was parked parallel to Amu, facing the opposite direction it came from. Amu fell to her knees and sighed before shouting at Riiko, "You nearly killed me! That was really dangerous! Do you know how to drive?!"

Night quickly got out of the front seat and leaped over to Amu's side and opened the driver's door. He had a look of concern for the now, spiraled-eyed Riiko who was leaning on the steering wheel for comfort. Night said with a concerned face to Riiko, "Riiko, I'll drive. You don't have to do this for my sake."

Riiko snapped to attention and replied, "No. I can do this. I will pay for your price so don't worry about me." Night pulled her out of the car and held her by the shoulders as he faced her. "Now I'm even more worried. Riiko, you don't know how to drive so I should drive. I'll pay of my own debt. I don't like to see you worried over my sake."

Amu looked at the interaction between the two and realized that by the looks of things, they were in the middle of a lover's quarrel. Amu was blushing slightly by what was going on between them until Night suddenly gave Riiko a French Kiss. Amu and her Shugo Charas were extremely shocked by what was going on.

"Wahhh!!! An adult kiss!" Amu half yelled as she held her face with her two hands and Ran yelled, "IT'S AN ADULT'S WORLD!!!"

Riiko and Night finally noticed what the situation looked like and both drew away from the kiss and looked away and said at the same time, "Gomenasai."

After that brief escapade Riiko faced Amu and said as she scratched her head, "I'm sorry for what happened earlier." Riiko was wearing a white and green tracksuit to hide her purple blouse and faded jeans underneath. She was also wearing red running sneakers. The teen obviously prepared herself well since she was also wearing green contact lenses and a black wig that was wavy in style while she had a slight bit of makeup to cover her plain face.

Riiko took Night by the hand and said, "Amu-chan, this is Night." Night was wearing a brownish red, zipped up jacket with a high collar over a black tank top and light brown cargo pants and white rubber shoes. Amu took note of the handsome man and thought, _'Wow! He's really handsome!'_ but then she shook her head and thought, _'Don't fall for it!' _the pink haired girl asked Riiko, "Riiko-san, where did you get that car?"

Riiko shook her head and said, "I found it parked in front of my apartment this morning with a note for me and a cellphone. She really wasn't kidding about me being the getaway driver."

Suddenly, they heard a ringing sound so all three of them checked their cellphones and found out it wasn't for them. Riiko quickly took out the black cellphone handed to her with the car and sure enough, it was ringing. She quickly answered on its receiver, "Hello?"

Trish replied from the opposite line, "Did you pick up the car?"

Riiko was a bit wide-eyed but replied, "Hai. I also picked up Amu-chan like you asked."

Trish was on top of a seven story building and overlooking an open top mall with a bank to its right and a restaurant on the bank's left. She kept a keen eye on her surroundings while holding the black cellphone with her right hand, close to her right ear. She said over the line, "Good. I want you to drive here to the Satori Suite Hotel. They have a special parking area for cabs so you can park with them." Trish cut the line after that and headed down to the lobby. By the time she walked all the way down and entered the large room, she saw Amu with her Shugo Charas, Night and Riiko, standing there in wonder until they noticed the blonde woman. Trish turned around and walked into the lounge, cueing them to follow. The group of four plus three Shugo Charas followed Trish into the lounge area where they promptly took their seats beside her. Night sat directly beside Trish's right side while Riiko sat beside Night and Amu sat across Trish. Riiko started, "Why did you bring us here?"

Trish replied, "I brought you here because we have a job to do."

Amu replied, "Wait. What about our debt?" Trish said as a waiter brought them pancakes for breakfast, "That is why I had all of you come here. We'll settle the debt after you eat."

Night looked Trish with suspicion and the blonde woman replied, "What's wrong? Did you eat breakfast already?" Night replied, "No. But is Riiko going to get hurt doing whatever you want her to do?" Amu frowned and thought, _'Is he an idiot? She's going to get hurt by walking around with this person.'_

Trish replied, "Are you going to make sure she doesn't?" Night nodded and replied, "I will protect her because I am her boyfriend." Riiko blushed by what Night said and Trish smiled in a slightly devious way. The blonde woman said as she leaned a little closer, "Oh? You're a pretty interesting boy. I look forward to seeing you put those words in action." Riiko however, was now a bit edgy with the situation and ate her pancakes like no tomorrow. Amu noticed what Riiko was doing and gasped at how fast she finished her plate. Night returned to eating the meal like a normal person until Trish said, "So do you eat to live?" Night replied, "Yes. I'm really hungry." _'I have to eat or else I will get noticed.'_

Trish replied, "You learn something new everyday. Robots these days can actually eat and digest food." Amu said in confusion, "Eh?" Riiko looked like she was about to panic until Amu suddenly said as she pointed at Night, "Don't tell me, he's that lo—" Riiko grabbed a napkin and covered Amu's mouth while saying, "Ahhh, Amu-chan. You should clean your mouth after eating so much." Amu was flailing her arms around until she noticed the strange looks that the people around them were giving them. Amu settled down as Riiko let go of the napkin and apologized.

Eventually, they finished their meals and Trish explained to them the plan. "There's a bank just across this building and something of great value is behind its vault." Amu and Riiko as well as Night paid attention to Trish's next words. The blonde woman pulled out a small cutout of the area from a map and placed it on the table for them to see. "We will attack the bank and take what we need. Riiko, you'll drive us to the front of the bank and drop us off then drive to the back of the restaurant." Riiko nodded and Trish continued. "Night, you will work as a janitor for the restaurant and when we exit through the restaurant from the bank, at the backdoor, you will switch the package with one of the trashbags while Amu and I will get in the car where Riiko will drive around to the back of the mall beside the restaurant and drop us off there and drive to the mall entrance to wait for us. Since Night is just beside the mall, he can take the package, make an early leave for the mall entrance and get in the car, by which time, Amu and I would have lost the police in the crowd and have made it back to the car and we'll be free."

Riiko, Amu and Night were amazed. It was a simple, but effective plan that made perfect sense. So much that Amu and her Shugo Charas understood it right away. Miki commented, "It's the perfect plan. She's good."

Riiko thought as she looked at her route, _'It's so simple. She must be a professional burglar like Lupin III. Or Ocean's Eleven. I feel like I'm in a movie already!'_

Trish looked at the time on the wall clock and it read nine fifty three in the morning. She said as she got up, "Well, it's time." Amu swallowed hard and thought, _'This is it. There's no turning back anymore.' _Riiko and Night looked to each other and Night smiled as he said to her, "Drive safely okay?" Riiko's resolve strengthened despite her nervousness and she said, "Alright. You be careful also."

With that, the five of them plus three Shugo Charas quickly walked to the parking lot and entered their getaway car. Riiko took the wheel, Amu sat beside her, Trish at the back behind Riiko and Night behind Amu.

Riiko started the car and slowly drove it from the parking lot of the hotel to the front of the bank. They were nervous about the job but nonetheless had a mutual understanding of the mutual benefits despite the suspicion hanging in the air and the heavy atmosphere of dread.

Riiko parked the car right outside the restaurant. Night exited the car and said before he entered the restaurant, "Take care." She then drove to the bank and Amu and Trish walked out and faced the entrance to the bank that was just about to open for the time was still nine fifty nine. Amu was opposite the left side of the double doors and Trish on the right. As Riiko drove off towards her next position, Amu stared at the bank and was nervous. She knew that she was stuck in a position she couldn't escape. The woman beside her was like the devil himself. Amu swallowed hard as she felt the inside of her jacket to make sure that the Nagant revolver was in her pocket and she was terrified. Trish saw this and put a hand on Amu's right shoulder with her left hand and knelt down to Amu's level. "Amu," Trish whispered. "All the bank employees here are demons under the disguise of human beings. The reason we are here this early is because we don't want any human beings to get caught in the middle of it." Amu turned her head to face Trish and say, "Eh? How do you know that?" Trish replied, "I can smell them. I've killed enough demons to know their smell anywhere. I checked this bank yesterday and it's filled with them. Our job today is not to rob the bank but kill all the demons in here." Amu was wide eyed with what she heard and faced Trish properly this time and said, "K-Kill them? Wait a minute! What are you talking about? I don't understand what you are saying!"

Trish placed both hands on Amu's shoulders and said, "Amu, I lied about the bank robbery so that Riiko and Night stay out of harms way. We will follow the plan as promised but we won't take the money. Instead, we will take their lives. You and I will have to."

Amu shook her head and said, "So you lied also about the money and what we owe you?" Trish replied, "No. I didn't lie about that. We will get the money as promised but not now. There is money in that bank but it's money stolen from many families around this place. If we leave the money after we're done here, the police will find it in that bank and return it to the people it really belongs to and they will be able to live happily. But if we take it, you and Riiko will be saved at the cost of those people's happiness. Can you really do that Amu?" Amu was speechless. She thought about it and immediately felt guilty. She shook her head and Trish said, "It's okay Amu. We'll find a way. But first, those other people's lives are more important."

After Trish said those words, the phones of Amu, Trish, Night and Riiko rung, indicating it was Ten o'clock. Trish took out her phone and Amu did as well. They quickly shut off the alarm, tucked in their phones and the double doors of the bank opened. Trish stood up and suddenly pulled out her custom made gun and fired a shot at the first of the two guards who opened the doors. The bullet hit him in between the eyes and he flew to the back as black blood sprayed on the wall and the floor. The second guard by the door tried to aim at Trish only for Amu to have pulled out the now transformed Desolator and fire three shots at the chest of the guard. The guard fell hard and black blood sprayed the floor and parts of the door. Trish replied as she walked towards the guard Amu shot, "Well, they had it coming. But, black blood? That's something I didn't expect." She aimed her gun at the guard's head as the guard was beginning his transformation back into a demon but failed when Trish put a bullet into his brain. Amu was still new to all this and was about to vomit but held her gut in knowing that they were demons. She walked beside Trish while holding the gun up like someone from a spy movie. Trish replied, "It'll take ten minutes for the police to arrive. So until then, we have to kill all of the demons inside the bank. Make sure you aim for the head." Trish then aimed her gun forward while pulling out her second gun so she held twin guns. Amu aimed forward as well and Trish said as the people in the streets panicked, "Let's Rock!"

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Among those who panicked in the streets from the sound of gunfire was a brown haired woman. She had her hair tied up in a high ponytail but her white, long sleeved polo, blue jeans, brown jacket and brown sneakers made it obvious that it was Yamaoka Miharu. She was busy tracking down the whereabouts of the white haired slayer and the pink haired school girl she lost sight of after they jumped off the window of a three story building and into a red Mercedes Benz. She managed to get the video to her editor but her story was shoved aside despite the fact that the killings that happened in that hotel were real. She didn't want to lose such a good story and so dived deep into what she needed to find out. Currently she managed to get her camera out by reflex to record the backs of the two gunmen who had just shot down the guards. As she recorded, she noticed that they were both female and that one was the height of an elementary school student and had pink hair.

Miharu thought as she followed the scene carefully through the parting and panicked crowd, _'Short pink hair, a custom built gun, age and height that of an elementary school student, this must be it! But where's the pretty boy and who was that blondie? I guess I'll just have to find out.' _She then ran into the bank and crouched down as she heard gunfire everywhere. The bank was two stories high with the vault at the basement. Currently, Miharu was in the lobby just behind one of the walls with a potted plant for her to hide behind. She aimed her camcorder at the action that was happening before her eyes. Amu was hiding behind one of the signing desks in the building while the extra security of five hundred men were firing away at Amu's position with a FAMAS. Surely, a bank has to be well prepared for robberies right?

Amu yelled to her Shugo Charas, "Why is there an army of guards in a bank?!" Miki replied with a General's Cap on, "That's because we are attacking the enemy headquarters soldier." Amu yelled back, "Don't go acting that way on me!" Su replied, "Maybe I can go take a look." Su tried to peek out of the right side of the signing desk but the guards saw her and opened fire. Su quickly flew back to Amu and cried on Amu, "They saw me!" Amu patted her head a little and said, "There, there." She quickly looked to her left and saw that the guards were slowly making their way down to her position. Amu put her gun arm over the counter and fired four shots but quickly withdrew it when they fired back. Amu said to herself, "There's too many of them. Trish-san is downstairs by the vault too. What do I do?" Ran said to Amu, "Let's chara change Amu-chan." Miki replied, "Amu-chan, chara change with me!" Amu nodded and said, "Watashi no kokoro, unlock!" She quickly transformed with Miki and once again, Desolator's influence kicked in and now, Amu's outfit was a black hooded jacket that looked more like a cape with sleeves and a hood. It had red stripes on the sleeves and a long trenchcoat like back over what seems to be a dark blue swimsuit but is actually a sleeveless bodysuit. She also wore light blue minishorts with a built in utility belt and pouches and garter belts attached to the ends to also hold up her bluish black cargo pants-like stockings. To complete the look, she had black chucks wrapped with two belts to prevent the shoes from leaving the foot and a white left glove. Amu yelled out, "Charanari, Amulet Maverick!"

The guards saw Amu and fired away. The pink haired girl ran towards the next desk to her right while firing Desolator at machinegun setting, sending the guards to spread out and surround her while giving a barrage of lead that kept her pinned down to her spot. Miki then voiced out to Amu from the locket around Amu's neck, "Amu-chan, the glove on your left hand can turn anything you grab into a weapon. But you need to focus really hard to use it." Amu saw a broken piece of wood from the floor beside her. She held on to it and thought, _'A weapon…but I don't know what kind!' _a bullet passed through the desk and hit the wall on the other side. Amu noticed this and concentrated for her life. _'A weapon…a weapon….A weapon that can defeat all of them…' _The only thing she can remember at the moment was one of those action scenes in a movie where the main character throws a grenade at the enemy and they all blow up. She closed her eyes and imagined a small bomb like she sees in an afternoon cartoon show. And as she remembers the bomb, the piece of wood glowed blue in her left hand before turning into a cannonball bomb made of wood with a wick. Amu opened her eyes to see the wooden bomb and she threw it at the crowd of enemies. Amidst the hail of gunfire, she fired one shot at the wooden bomb and it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere and injuring most of the five hundred men. Five of the five hundred had their hands injured while two were temporarily blinded. Most dove away from the explosion and now all of their eyes glowed red. Amu took the momentary distraction and leaped out from behind the desk and with Desolator's gunner's instinct flowing into her conscious, she cocked the shotgun setting of her gun and fired ten shots to her corner right, killing the three guards there. She then ran and dove behind one of the teller counters and took the FAMAS at her feet with her left while firing five regular shots from her Desolator at the heads of five guards, killing them. The remaining four hundred eighty two assaulted like no tomorrow. They charged while firing their assault rifles at Amu. The pink haired girl held the FAMAS in her left really tight and said, "What now? There's still too many of them!" Su shouted to Amu, "Amu-chan, think of happy thoughts." Amu replied, "This is not the time to think of those things!" Miki replied, "Su is right Amu-chan. You will only be able to defeat them if you think of happy thoughts. Because you will concentrate your hardest when you're truly happy." Amu knew it was crazy but at the moment, she had no choice. She thought of a lot of happy things like her birthday, her family, Hotori Tadase, the Guardians and her Shugo Charas…especially that time when Ran and Su got stuck together after eating bubblegum.

'_That's it!' _Amu thought. She concentrated really hard on the thought of bubblegum and the FAMAS in her hand transformed into an orange Stinger with a sickle shape magazine under the barrel and close to the firing mechanism. She rolled out of the teller counter and kneeled down, holding the Stinger over her right shoulder and with her left hand supporting the barrel she temporarily dropped the Desolator and held the handle of the weapon with her right hand. The guards ducked behind the walls, plants, the supporting pillars, some at the stairs and others behind anything they could hide. Amu fired the missile dead center in their general direction. The missle flew to its target and exploded into a mass of stretchy bubblegum that reached out and captured the guards before it bounced back into itself, taking the now immobile guards with it. The guards that were captured were now clumped together and helpless before Amu who fired away fifteen more missiles towards were the guards took cover. The tried to run but were too late and all four hundred eighty two were captured and clumped up together in uncomfortable clumps of sixteen. The guards yelled in discomfort but Amu didn't hesitate this time and dropped the Stinger and picked up a nearby FAMAS and fired the whole magazine at the first clump, killing most of them until she picked up another nearby FAMAS, and fired away like no tomorrow, knowing they were not human. She then picked up Desolator once more and cocked the sliding frame of the gun and the shotgun cocking mechanism. She then held the gun with two hands and opened fire a hailstorm of machinegun setting shotgun fire at the remaining fifteen clumps of demonic flesh in disguise. Black blood spilled all over the room and watered the floor while the demons didn't have a time to wail or cry in pain. Instead, they were torn into tiny chunks of flesh that decayed and rot in the sunlight after the hailstorm of gunfire.

Amu panted as smoke rose from inside the barrel of her custom made gun. She fell to her knees as she rested her gun arms on the floor. All in all, she was tired and couldn't keep up the pace she was in. Fighting a platoon of demons would tax anyone's reserves heavily. But as she thought everything was over, she suddenly received a heavy blow to half of her stomach and some of her chest from a shotgun butt, courtesy of a thirty-year old looking man with round glasses. Amu keeled over and the man in a gray business suit, picked her up by her hair with his left hand and pointed the shotgun down her throat and said, "You've caused us enough trouble little girl. It's time I taught you some manners. Filthy bags of flesh like you should remain as snacks for us. And where you're going, you'll have plenty of time to feed us." But before the man could pull the trigger, his hands were suddenly cut by a semi-sickle shaped knife that swooped in. Black blood splattered from his wrists as Amu and the shotgun dropped to the floor. The knife flew back to the right hand of its master, Trish—who holstered the blade. She went towards the kneeling man in pain and said "it's not nice to attack little girls like that. Now who needs to be taught some manners here? Can you guess who? Or are you too stupid to know how to?"

The man grumbled as Trish helped Amu back to her feet and noticed that Amu had hard time breathing. She felt the place where Amu was clubbed and the pink-haired girl winced greatly in pain. Amu fell to the floor again and Trish grit her teeth as she looked at the now smiling man. Trish didn't expect it to go this way but it happened regardless. Amu's ribs were broken and had pierced her internal organs. The shotgun's butt was larger in proportion to Amu's body when she was kneeling down so it was bound to happen. Trish didn't have any medical equipment with her so Amu was in grave danger.

Trish could do little for the young girl and Ran and Su moved to Amu in fear for her life. Trish heard the man chuckle at Amu's predicament and she stepped on him with her right foot. The man said to her, "Go ahead. Send me to Hell. I'll just come back." Trish demanded, "Who sent you here?" the man replied, "You'll just have to find out. It's in the special box in the vault. But I don't have the key. Of course, the police will be coming and you won't have the chance to open by force either. You don't have any other options. It's either you leave now by yourself, or stay here and wait for help behind bars for storming in a bank, killing all of its employees while having a child partake in the massacre, only for her to die alongside the same people she killed. And you will be branded a murderer and kidnapper."

Miki switched with Su in the locket and by reflex, Desolator still in Amu's right hand, aimed its barrel at Amu's right temple and fired. The bullet went into Amu and Trish dreaded what she just heard. She looked to where Amu was and noticed a bright light was covering Amu before it faded away revealing Amu wearing a sleeveless, light brown Acolyte's gown with a green muffler, brown leather gloves that reached all the way to Amu's elbows and boots of the same color that reached to Amu's knees. The gown was just high enough that half of her boots were seen and it was held together by a leather corset of armor type design to support her waist in battle. And as a cream to the crop, she had a green, frilly choker.

Amu regained consciousness and looked around and said, "I remember being hit and then Trish…." She saw Trish and the man and gasped, "Ah! You hit me really hard! I'll kill you for that!" Trish smiled slightly and said, "I'm glad to see you're fine. But how did you recover?" Amu wondered about that as well and looked to what her right hand was holding and her clothes. Suddenly Su voiced out, "Amu-chan, this is the power of Amulet Torniquet." Amu sweatdropped and thought, _'these new names are hard to pronounce. I don't even know what they mean.'_

Su voiced out, "Amu-chan, when we saw you bleeding to death, Miki and I switched and then Desolator-san pointed himself at you and shot you. After that you became all better."

Amu gasped and said, "Eh?! He did what?" she looked at the gun and noticed that the red X normally on it's design was now a red cross to indicate its restorative abilities. Trish said to her, "Amu, that's the most powerful capability I've ever seen. Your gun has the ability to heal those it's bullets hit. You have unique abilities and you should use them wisely."

Amu looked to Trish and nodded. She then asked her, "What took you so long? If you hadn't come sooner…" Trish replied as she kept her hold on the demon in human form under her right foot, "I was busy fight the bank employees downstairs and upstairs. Who would've thought there were more than a thousand demons in both floors."

Amu frowned and said, "Are you mocking me?" Trish replied "Of course not. But this guy is getting on my nerves. I noticed the box he was talking about downstairs but why is it so important?" the man replied, "If we are going to rule this world, we'll need a crown for all the kings. Good kings will bring this world of innocence into a greater world. You know it." Trish pulled out her gun with her right hand and aimed it at the man's head. She replied, "This not so innocent world already has a good king. It just so happens his subjects are the evil ones." She pulled the trigger and blew a hole in his head, killing him. Trish turned around and said, "Looks like we do have something to take Amu. I'll go take the box he mentioned. It sounds very important. You should rest." Amu replied, "I'll go make sure we can escape. The police might be coming soon."

As Amu ran to the stairs leading to the fire exit, Trish called out to Amu, "Don't faint on me now."

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Miharu was jawdropped and speechless by what she saw and heard. Everything was like one fairy tale to another and she was caught in the middle of it. The woman thought to herself, _'This is the scoop of the year! A conspiracy plot, magical items, you can't get any better than this! This is the thrill ride I've been searching for years now! I've got to get an interview.' _She carefully made her way out of her hiding place and stealthily stalked her way to another hiding spot behind a pillar, just in time for her to catch Trish come out of the stairwell leading to the underground vault, carrying a red box. She followed Trish to the emergency exit leading to the alleyway where a nearby restaurant was situated. Trish ran out of the emergency exit to see Night and Amu, in her normal attire, there waiting for her while Riiko had the car backed up as planned. Trish then handed the box to Night who stowed it in a black trash bag as planned and carefully placed it with the rest of the trashbags. Amu got in the car's front seat while Trish in the back and they drove off. Night was about to return back inside the restaurant until he heard the voices and footsteps of seven men from the emergency exit of the bank. Night quickly took the trashbag containing the package and opened the lid on one of the metal trashcans as several police officers and one black haired detective in a brown suit burst through the door and looked around with their guns at the ready. Night, pretended to be innocent and raised his arms up like a normal bystander. The detective quickly asked Night, "Did you see anyone who went through here?"

Night replied, "I saw a woman and a girl pass through in a hurry. They went that way." Night pointed to where Amu and Trish drove off to and the detective and his men ran towards that direction. The detective pulled out his phone and quickly called the number to the police officers in the vicinity, and said, "There's a woman and a girl suspected of robbery and murder in the Cain bank. Make sure that you find them!" him and his team looked around and the detective said, "They might've entered the mall so let's search there!" the detective and his team ran towards the back of the mall where they saw a blonde woman with a pink haired girl enter. The detective yelled out, "Stop! Police!" the two walked in the mall and the detective and his team of cops ran after them only to lose them in the crowd of people roaming the mall. Several were staring at the detective and his force while some went on their way. The detective looked around and one of his cops saw a blonde woman with roughly the same attire but had a brown jacket. The cop saw the back view of the woman but instinct told him it was her. "There she is!" he yelled. The detective sprinted to her and when he turned her around, he realized his mistake that not only was it the wrong person, it was also the wrong gender. The detective and his team spread out and searched the mall in vain while Miharu, who ran close by, turned off her camera after she lost sight of them.

Meanwhile, Amu and Trish were already at the front entrance where Night and Riiko were awaiting in their car except the car had the Taxi sign on top of it. Amu and Trish got in and Riiko drove away quickly as the police swamped the area. Riiko drove alongside the other cabs headed away from their current location while Night yelled, "We did it!"

Trish replied, "Now's not the time to celebrate. We can relax once we make it to Mahora Academy."

Riiko replied, "Why there? And where is that place?"

Trish replied, "That school is the safest place to be in right now. It's a city-wide campus and the best haven for people like us because the school has diplomatic immunity due to the many foreigners that study there. And it also is the closest we can get to at the edge of the police's searching capabilities."

Riiko replied, "So we're going to hide in plain sight and no one can come after us." _'She really though this through and it makes so much sense.'_

Amu sighed and said, "So it's over for now."

Night then moved over to turn on the radio and said as he turned it on, "I'm sorry. I'm really bored right now."

Trish replied, "Knock yourself out."

After Night turned on the radio the song that played wailed, "_**I'm a Cowboy! I've got the night on my side! Cause I'm wanted….WAAANTEEEEDD!! Dead or Alive!"**_

Trish chuckled at the irony of the song and said, "How ironic."

Riiko and Amu couldn't properly understand why but Night said, "Wow. This song is cool. It's kinda like us. Running away from the police because we robbed a bank."

"Is that so?" Riiko and Amu said as they sweatdropped, understanding what Night implied. Riiko continued her steady pace at the wheel and said as she drove along, "So where is Mahora Academy?"

Trish replied, "Make a left turn at the next intersection and keep going straight until you see a bridge there. Past that bridge is the school itself."

Riiko nodded and said, "Okay then. So the safe house is there right?"

Trish replied, "Uh…yes. We'll wait there and count our pay." However, Amu knew she was lying and sighed as Ran hovered close to her and said, "Don't worry Amu-chan. We'll be able to pay your debt. Let's just be thankful that we're still alive."

Su replied, "We did well today Amu-chan." Miki nodded and said, "We really did our best today."

Amu nodded and said, "We really did it didn't we?"

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The white bus was lively again as it made its way to Mahora Academy. Ten twenty in the morning was the perfect time for them to awaken, full of energy. Kurumu yelled out, "Yahoo! It's the third time we're visiting the human world! Let's go to Tsukune's house."

Kokoa replied, "That sounds boring."

Yukari added, "But it's a lot of fun in Tsukune's house."

Mizore then appeared behind Tsukune and said, "Let's go into your room Tsukune and continue where we left off."

Tsukune was a bit panicked by Mizore's sudden reply. Moka said in a state of panic, "Wa-wait. What are you sa—" Kurumu butted in holding up Mizore by the collar, "Hey what are you saying? You're trying to take away Tsukune again? I thought you had changed but you still act that way stalker onna!"

Mizore said with a plain face, "My feelings for Tsukune haven't changed at all, Ero-chi-chi onna."

The two began arguing over Tsukune while Ruby sighed, Kokoa paid no heed to their rants, and Moka looked panicked about what was going on. Dante looked out the window while two coolers sat beside him—one on the seat, the other on the floor. In fact, the trunk of the bus was filled with several coolers full of medical blood that Dante 'borrowed' from the hospital.

Yukari was interested by what was going on between the usual argument but this time, it was getting a bit boring. So she turned her sights on the second most interesting thing in the bus, Dante. He looked bored as hell but still looked cool despite that fact. Why? Even she didn't understand. But today, he looked lost in thought and even more aloof than normal. She was nearby to him so it didn't seem out of place and everyone seemed to be distracted. Yukari asked Dante, "What are thinking about Dante-san?"

Dante looked to see it was Yukari who asked him. He then returned to viewing the window and said, "What the bad guys are up to right now."

Yukari was confused and asked again. "Who are the bad guys you're talking about?"

Dante was slightly irked about this girl yet strangely interested. She just seemed to take everything in stride and remain happy go lucky. Dante replied, "Guys who want to take over the world and enslave all of humanity. Does that answer your question?"

Yukari replied, "Really? Are they like those guys you fought with last night?"

Dante replied, "Sorta. But I'm thinking about the other people using that organization and how on earth their planning on doing what they want to do and why I needed to buy this many coolers anyway." _'What is she up to? There must be something she wants but what? Candy? A dirty magazine? Magical spellbook? I've got none of those.'_

Yukari replied as she looked at the containers, "Ne, why is the cooler so important? We just ate breakfast a while ago."

Dante replied, "Probably a bargaining chip for my client. Can't say more than that kid…everything else is strictly classified to adults."

Yukari pouted and said, "Eeh??! That's unfair. We saved your life so you can at least tell us why you're really here."

Dante replied, "I was on my way to Mahora Academy and it just so happened…hey why am I telling you this anyway?" Yukari replied with her hands behind her back, "I don't know desu." Dante replied, "Don't play innocent kid. I know a rat when I smell one and you're the type of rat that just loves to get in trouble."

Yukari replied as she flailed her arms about, "Hey! I'm no rat! I'm a witch! You're so mean!"

Dante replied, "Can you cast healing spells?" Yukari thought about it and said, "I haven't gotten there yet." Dante asked in amusement, "**Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens**…how about that one?"

Yukari was jawdropped and said, "That's a high level magic spell that only the Thousand Master knows how to do! I'm still a witch in training." Dante chuckled and said, "Well at least you know your stuff. I bet you can be a very useful flashlight in the dark."

By this time, they were all paying attention to Dante and Yukari's conversation.

Ruby was intrigued. Yukari approached Dante while Dante conversed with her normally. It was interesting to note. Even more that he has an understanding of the fundamentals of magic. Ruby asked Dante, "You seem to be very knowledgeable in magic, Dante-san. **Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens **is a high level spell of ancient magic, something that only witches and warlocks know in secret. Those who can cast a spell like that are geniuses."

Moka asked Yukari, "Is that true Yukari-chan?" Yukari replied, "Hai, Moka-san. The last mage who could cast that spell is the Thousand Master—a legendary magister magi. But he died a long time ago so there isn't anyone left who could cast that spell anymore."

Tsukune asked her, "Yukari-chan, is the spell that powerful?"

However, Dante was the one who answered. "Powerful? We're talking about a single beam of lightning and wind with a diameter twice that of a battleship's main cannon shell and the force of a jet at mach 3, coming out of a mage's hand as pure magical energy of elemental origin. You don't want to get hit by that thing. Its range can even reach an airplane at thirteen thousand feet and still take it down. Unless you have high immunity to magic or just stubbornly powerful, you'll get vaporized instantly."

Mizore raised an eyebrow and said, "You must have experienced it firsthand then." Dante replied, "I was in a coma for three days when I got hit by that thing. Powerful mages would recover quicker but at that time, the best magic I could defend against were two hundred lightning arrows and I'd still get my body full of holes."

Kokoa replied, "Then why the hell did you allow yourself to get hit if that was the best you could do?"

Dante replied, "Who said I did? I got two hundred out of the two thousand. And that was my best record yet." Kurumu sweatdropped and thought, _'Isn't there anything he hasn't done yet?'_

Dante looked at Ruby and Yukari as the white bus began entering the bridge towards Mahora Academy. Dante stared at all these girls and most of them have feelings for Tsukune. The white haired demon slayer looked at Moka and thought, _'Of all the girls here, he chose her. Not surprising though. But I do wonder how he'll live with her in the future. I mean if she gets hungry during the honeymoon, he might get premature E.D. But all you need is each other right? Better than getting the life sucked out you, or getting 'IT' frozen off. Now that would suck. Of course, if he settled with the witches, I don't wanna think about what weird things could happen to him. But he's very blessed to already find a good partner. Whereas I get a woman that looks like my mother, and a Lady with an itchy trigger finger. And let's not forget the money I owe them and the bets I lose to them. Oh well. Since everything sucks, might as well find something to smile about.'_

"So Tsukune," Dante asked, getting their attention. "You're still a virgin right?"

Tsukune blushed alongside the rest of the crew except for the bus driver. Dante then placed a hand to his chin and said, "That's weird. You're completely human yet the vampire blood running through your veins doesn't have any real effect on you. By now, you should be a bloodsucker or at least have a hunger for blood but you're still a human to the core. Unless, when she bit you and gave you vampire blood, you've already lost your virginity by then…" _'And leave it to their imaginations to do the rest.'_

Ruby saw the possibility running through the girls' eyes and Tsukune said as he showed the lock on his right wrist, "You're right. I'm completely human. But only because of this lock on my wrist the chairman gave me. It stops the ghoul inside of me from coming out and taking over."

Dante replied, "But vampire blood in a virgin quickly takes over regardless of whether there was a lock or not. Moka has access to all of her vampire powers with ease without having to break the rosario on her chest. She just refuses to use it. Yet with you, how much must you concentrate in order to use even one quarter of that strength?"

Ruby got the loophole and her wide-eyed look made things worse. "Dante-san is right. Even in the past, the few humans who were bitten and became full-fledged vampires had complete access to all of their powers and weren't overwhelmed. The main reason is because they were all virgins whereas those who did get bitten but became ghouls is because they already lost their virginity before the bite so they need the lock to keep them in check because they don't have complete access to the power and the power easily overwhelms them."

It hit them like lightning on a lightning rod. Kurumu was the first one who yelled and went to Tsukune with a blushing and confused face, "TSUKUNEEEE!! It's not true right?"

Yukari also interrogated Tsukune and said, "Someone else got to you first?! Who is it?"

"That's right!" Kurumu replied as she asked Tsukune in his face. "Who is it?"

Tsukune yelled back in dismay, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Moka tried to part the crowd and said, "There is no way Tsukune would do something like that. Right Tsukune?"

Kurumu replied, "Shut up Moka! Come to think of it, you were the one with Tsukune the longest."

Moka held her hands together to cure her embarrassment as she replied, "But…Tsukune was my first friend." Her words didn't help and made even more suspicion.

Kurumu pointed at Moka and said, "No way…Y-you and Tsukune….EHHH?!!!"

Moka replied while flailing her arms about, "Tsukune and I haven't done something like that!"

Mizore then took this chance and went in front of Tsukune and said, "It doesn't matter at all to me Tsukune. Let's do it."

Tsukune yelled out, "Like I said!! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Dante sat back and relaxed as they rioted in the bus. By the time they all calmed down, they were already in Mahora Academy. The riot ended when the bus driver said to them as he parked just by the bridge, "We're here. Take a good look at the all-girl's school known as Mahora Academy."

The teens and one almost twelve year-old girl looked at the school and saw it's magnificent sights. It was something they've never seen before and are now fascinated with the architectural beauty that was the school.

"Sugoi!" they all exclaimed…well, almost all. Dante got off the bus and took down the coolers from the trunk and inside the bus as a black haired young girl with her hair tied back into two, braided ponytails approached them with a hovering, rectangular pushcart in tow. She had glasses and an open labcoat over her school uniform underneath, indicating she was the type who looked like a mad scientist.

The girl approached Dante first and said, "You must be Dante. Welcome to Mahora Academy. Evangeline said you would be coming. But you are a little late. You should have been here three hours, forty-five minutes and twenty three seconds ago."

Tsukune sweatdropped and said, "Does she have to state the exact time?"

Dante replied to Hakase, "Well, being late never hurt anybody. I got what she needed so no worries." He then went back in the bus to take out his guitar case and when he got it, Moka asked, "So you're leaving?"

Dante replied as he slung the black case over his right shoulder, "Yeah. It was fun partying with you guys but I've got to get back on my original mission. So, onto my last stop. I've got a date with an original nosferatu."

Moka was a bit perked by this and said, "There's an ancient vampire here?"

Dante replied as he got off the bus, "I wouldn't talk about her age when she's around. But, yes, there is an ancient vampire here. Care to join me?"

Moka was about to say no until Tsukune said, "Moka-san, you should go. It's not like you have met many of your kind around."

Ruby replied, "This might be a good opportunity to learn from someone with greater experience than you."

Kokoa replied, "Eh?! That doesn't concern me one bit. But this sounds interesting."

Kurumu replied, "We still have a day before we can go back to Yokai Academy. I want to look around here too."

Yukari chirped, "Same here desu." Mizore nodded in reply making it a unanimous decision. So the entire Yokai-gumi went down from the bus to join Dante.

Hakase bowed politely and said, "I am Saotomi, Hakase. Nice to meet you all. It's been a while since we had visitors from another school. I'll take you to Evangeline now."

Dante and company put the coolers on the hovering trolley, arranging it into three columns and four rows, stacked on top of each other to accommodate the thirty-six coolers.

Yukari and Kurumu looked at the hovering trolley with awe and Kurumu said, "This is really handy. Where did you get this?"

Hakase said as she pulled the trolley and lead the way, "I invented it. Though it is mostly technology based, the initial core engine is completely magical. Thanks to extensive research, I was able to develop magical circuits that network and connect with regular circuitry and form the basis of this hover technology and help the development of the synchronization between magic and science."

Tsukune said as his nose bled, "That's really interesting." _'Too much information. I can't keep up. Is she a mad scientist?'_

Yukari replied, "Eh? You can do that? Magic and science together?"

Hakase said as they entered the sports complex where the school swimming pool resided, "Yes. I'm in the process of completing the study. Once I finish it, I'll write it down in my thesis and form a new branch of science…Arcanology—the study of magic and it's involvement in technology."

Everyone seemed to be getting nose bleeds by the overload of technical terms so Ruby, who wasn't affected, said, "That's amazing. Are you a witch?"

Hakase replied as they stopped by the rectangular poolside, "No. I'm just someone who sold their soul to science." They all sweatdropped at her strange reply. Hakase continued. "But I did get help from a real mage. None of my magically driven machines would work without Evangeline's magic. She helped co-create some of my latest inventions."

Kurumu replied, "Wait a minute. This is confusing. Evangeline is a vampire right?"

Hakase nodded. Kurumu asked again, "And she also knows magic?"

Hakase replied, "Yes. Why do you find it surprising?"

Tsukune replied, "I'm sorry. We're new to all this. Everything is getting blurrier by the second."

Dante replied as he pointed at the pool, "Well, why don't you ask her to clarify things for you?"

They looked to see a swimming blonde haired girl of at least thirteen years of age. The light from the large windows of the indoor swimming pool shone on the entire pool, making it just as bright as the outside. The blonde haired girl was in a black, one-piece swimming suit and was happily playing in the water. In fact, she said as she floated on the water to face the ceiling with her green eyes, "Now this is relaxing. I should've thought about swimming earlier on a hot day. Especially after eating pizza filled with garlic and leeks."

The whole group except Dante and Hakase had saucers for eyes, and were completely jawdropped by what they saw.

Moka said, "She's a vampire…"Kokoa thought in connection, "She's swimming…"

Mizore thought next, "In water...after eating," Kurumu continued, "Garlic and leeks pizza." Yukari finished, "And she's swimming in the lighted areas where it's hottest..."

Kurumu then asked Hakase, "Is she really a vampire? That Chibi over there?"

Evangeline then swam to their poolside and pushed herself up and out of the water and into the light where they could see her wet, knee-length blonde haired glimmer in the sunlight as she stood confident and with a calculating look in her eyes. The undying mage then replied, "Ara, who are these new faces?"

Moka then introduced herself, "I'm Akayashi, Moka. It's nice to meet another vampire." She then turned her head to face Kokoa and said, "This is my younger sister Kokoa. She's also a vampire."

Yukari introduced herself next and said, "I'm Sendo, Yukari. I'm a witch."

Kurumu replied next, "I'm Korono, Kurumu. The other girl over there is Shirayuki Mizore."

Ruby introduced herself next, "I'm Toujyou, Ruby. I am also a witch."

Tsukune replied next, "I'm Aono, Tsukune."

Evangeline's interest was piqued by this new face known as Tsukune. He was average in all aspects but she knew there was more to him than just the surface. He had vampire blood running through his veins and the lock on his right wrist was there to keep the power of his blood in check but the cracks on it meant he was using the power on occasion making him a dangerous and unstable person. She looked at all of them and replied, "Hmmm? Two vampires, two witches, a snow woman, and a succubus? Putting aside the half-vampire, I'm seeing monsters that I haven't encountered in ages."

The Yokai-gumi were a bit confused about the half-vampire part until Dante nudged Tsukune and said, "She's talking about you kid."

Evangeline quickly took notice of Dante and said, "Look what the devil just dropped. I thought you'd be in hell right now since you never showed up."

Dante walked a bit closer to Evangeline and replied with his hands in a 'I'm here' gesture, "Hell had no room for me so they sent me back. Besides, they'd be much happier not seeing my face there since I take away all the chicks. Not that there are any left down there."

Evangeline laughed with her right hand a little over her mouth. "HAHAHAHAHA! You still know how to flatter people with your lame jokes. I assume you have everything I need?"

Dante pulled out the Yuki Onna's Kimono, the bag of Shira Yukis and the boot-high tank of holy water from his jacket and lay it down for Evangeline to see. Dante made a gentleman's bow before saying, "This here mademoiselle, is what you have asked for. And if you will look behind me, there is the coolers of the other object you asked. All thirty-six of them. So when do we get started?"

Evangeline replied, "After I answer the questions on their minds. They really want to know something and I happen to be in the mood to explain."

Moka took this as her cue and said, "Evangeline-san, are you really a vampire? And what do you mean by half-vampire?"

Evangeline replied as she ran her hands through her wet hair, "What gives you the impression that I wasn't one?"

Mizore replied, "Everything else you said and did."

The undying magi replied, "You're talking about the normal limitations that I break with ease. I have lived for over five hundred years and through those years, I was able to overcome the curses of the vampire race and all it's weaknesses. Including the hunger for blood."

The Yokai-gumi was shocked and perplexed. Evangeline saw their looks of disbelief and continued. "However, that doesn't mean that I don't need blood to maintain my strength. Without drinking blood, my form is reduced and so is my normal strength. As for the half-vampire, you should already know since it's your blood running through his veins even though his transformation is only half complete."

Tsukune gasped out, "Half complete?"

Evangeline turned around and said as she walked away, "Your humanity is slowly crumbling as the ghoul's power takes over. Without proper training, you could eventually lose what you've been trying so hard to keep and end up hurting the ones you love boya."

Tsukune was wide-eyed and dumbfounded by her cold words. Unfortunately, they were true as well. So far, Tsukune has gained limited control over his powers but they are not enough to truly solve his problems.

Kurumu, in slight panic, said, "That's a lie right? You're lying right?"

Evangeline replied, "I use to make locks like the one on his wrist and it only prevents the inevitable. With the life he leads, he is bound to be consumed by the power he uses as long as he rejects the blood given to him."

Dante suddenly cut in as he pulled the trolley along to walk to Evangeline's side, "That's sad. It's like rejecting the gift from a lover. Literally."

Yukari got pissed and said, "Wait! Tsukune wants to remain human and not turn into a monster desu. There has to be another way to stop it."

Moka added, "You were able to overcome your natural weaknesses which is never heard among vampires. If something as impossible as that can be done then Tsukune—"

"Shouldn't that be up to him to decide?" Evangeline said as she stopped and faced them with a serious face.

Tsukune thought about a lot of what has happened. _'I was powerless to save Mizore the first time. Although we saved her in the end, when I think about it, many things happened because I couldn't stop it. And from time to time, I feel like I'm losing control over my urges. Is this because of Moka's blood?'_

Tsukune decided to ask Evangeline about something concerning his condition. He steeled himself and said, "Evangeline-san, How long will it take before the lock expires like you said?"

Evangeline replied, "Hakase, where do these people come from?"

Hakase replied, "They're from Yokai Academy." Dante cut in, "Let's not forget about Fairy Tail, the organization that's completely opposite to Yokai Academy's views. They attacked once, they can attack again."

With the equipped information, Evangeline replied in the only way she could…absolutely frank. "You only have a maximum of three months before it breaks and you die."

Tsukune drooped his head a little at the new revelation. It was heart shattering but he wouldn't give up that easily. So he answered, "Then I'll just have to stop that from happening." He looked at Evangeline straight and said with fire in his heart, "I'll stop it from happening and keep my human side."

Evangeline replied, "Boya, it's not that easy. What can you do on your own? It's impossible."

Tsukune replied with a serious face, "No it's not! I'll find a way, so that I can continue to be with my friends. I promise that."

Evangeline smiled a little and said, "Interesting. You've got guts. I look forward to see you do that boya." She then took the trolley of coolers and said to Dante, "Bring the rest of the stuff with you and take them as well." With that, she pushed the trolley away as she exited the indoor swimming pool.

Kurumu quickly hugged Tsukune and said with joy, "Way to go Tsukune!"

Dante chuckled and faced Tsukune. He said to him, "Saying you'll prove her wrong…you've got guts kid. Few people actually get to talk back to 'Dark Evangel'. Especially since she's a wanted criminal with a six million dollar bounty on her head."

They didn't look like they believed him though he said that. Kokoa replied, "Yeah right."

Hakase took out her laptop and showed them the wanted poster of Evangeline on the internet. "It's all true. Take a look."

They looked at it and saw the list of things she was wanted for as well as her aliases. Not much else needed to be said about her infamy. Mizore replied, "She's that dangerous despite looking like a ten-year old girl."

Kokoa saw the bounty and thought, _'No way! She did all that! Wait, six million dollars will make me rich! Even if she overcame her weaknesses, she's not much stronger than a normal human if she doesn't drink blood regularly.'_

Kurumu had roughly the same thoughts and said, "Is she really that powerful?"

Dante said to them, "You could follow me and find out." He then picked up the Yuki Onna's kimono and the canteen of holy water and followed Evangeline towards an open area in the field, just behind Mahora Academy. It was at least eighteen thousand by eighteen thousand meters of dry, flat land with the surrounding forest acting as the borderlines with it's thick, telephone pole like trees. In the middle of the extremely large field was Evangeline, sitting down on one of the coolers around her. In front of her was an open cooler full of medical blood, bathing in ice. She was drinking a pack of medical blood from the vial opening like a straw on a juice pack.

Dante and company went to the open field to see what was going on and Dante said, "That's it? You needed blood so you can drink?"

Evangeline replied, "I need all my strength to do what I need to do. And I was thirsty."

However, so was Moka and Kokoa the moment they smelled the metallic smell of blood. They had spirals for eyes and blushed slightly at the smell that captivated their souls.

"It smells so good." Moka said. Kokoa added, "I want some."

Yukari exclaimed, "That was what was in the coolers?"

Dante replied, "It's the only way you can bargain with a vampire."

Moka and Kokoa made a steady pace to Evangeline but Kurumu and Mizore quickly knocked them out.

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Kurumu yelled.

Evangeline stood up from her seat and took two packs of medical blood and tossed them at Moka and Kokoa. She said as she stood confidently with an empty blood pack in her left hand, "Drink up. Vampire's need blood to stay healthy."

Moka and Kokoa began sucking on the blood like it was an oasis from the desert. In fact, after a few sips, their skin tones became healthier and more livid. Dante took out the other two items from his jacket and handed them to Evangeline before he sat down on one of the coolers. Ruby, Yukari, Kurumu, Mizore and Tsukune walked to Moka and Kokoa and sat down beside them. Tsukune asked, "Evangeline-san, Dante-san…we still have so many questions to ask."

Dante replied, "Alright. I'll let you in a little. I did owe you guys a favor from picking me up from the snow. So be a good bunch of kids and sit down."

They sat down rather quickly and Dante got to the point. "As you know, I'm a Demon Hunter. I kill my own kind for a living. I was given a mission to find out who has been trying to reopen the dormant hell gates all over the world but in order to do that, I need to know which ones are still active. I've found one by sheer luck but the others—"

"Wait a minute." Tsukune interrupted. "What are the hell gates?"

Ruby replied, "The hell gates are doors that connect this world with Hell. They are different from other dimensions because the doors allow access for the hell demons to enter into our world."

Evangeline cut in, "Hell demons are different from the yokai of this world. Hell demons are pure evil with carnal thinking and heartless souls. They will kill without hesitation or mercy and they are enslaved only to do evil. Which is why the hell gates were destroyed and sealed for good."

Yukari replied, "I've never read about that. Mama and Papa always told me that demons had hearts and the ability to think so they don't hurt their own."

Evangeline replied, "There's a lot the young don't know about. Your parents weren't wrong to not tell you these things because they wanted you not to fear each other when there already is tension between humans and yokai."

Dante replied, "Which is why I'm destroying the gates so that I can stop them from coming to this side. But I don't know where most of them are so I'm fighting blind. That's why I had to see Evangeline and ask her to use her magic to find them. But in order to do that, I had to find the stuff she needed for the ritual. That's why I stopped by at Yokai Academy."

They finally understood the weight of the mission that Dante carried and why he did these things. But Mizore had another thing on her mind that was bothering her. "Dante, about Fairy Tail…did my mother tell you anything else?"

Dante replied, "Yeah, about that. You see, Fairy Tail wants to create chaos between humans and yokai while Yokai Academy wishes to do the opposite. Of course, both sides will end up waging war because of their views. Normally, that's a job for you guys and your Chairman. But that guy Miyabi was a pawn of the guy that's been trying to reopen the hell gates so you guys are involved with my mission. I don't know what Jack Frost meant by the alliance but I did understand everything else and now I've got to babysit you and your school while finishing my job."

Tsukune replied, "I'm sorry to get you involved with our problems Dante-san. You helped us so much already."

Dante replied, "It's nothing. You shouldn't feel sorry. Actually, you guys need to think about what you're gonna do about this. I'm going to duke it out with the boss once I have evidence he's opening the gates. What are you guys going to do?"

Everything was too sudden. Yesterday, they faced a tyrant in a hostile takeover and Mizore nearly got raped. Now, they're facing an even bigger tyrant who wants to destroy this world from the sound of things. But Moka, with a naturally pure heart replied, "We'll help you Dante-san."

"Moka?!" Kurumu said as they faced her. Was she out of her mind?

Moka answered once more, "I know that we may not be of much help but, all our friends in school and all those innocent people, they shouldn't go through that. So we will stop it before it's too late."

Tsukune saw her resolve and knew it was the right thing to do. He nodded and replied, "I agree with Moka-san. We will do what we can to keep the peace."

Yukari replied, "Hai, hai desu."

Kurumu said with a smile, "It's settled then. We'll kick demon butts."

Evangeline replied as she took another pack of Medical blood, "You people are crazy. But at least you're enthusiastic." _'At least Boya and the rest of those weirdos didn't hear this. But this will make things interesting while they're away at Mundus Magicus.'_

Dante said to Evangeline, "So how are we going to find out about the hell gates? Mr. Sebastian Jenkins is a powerful man in the surface world thanks to politics and his human shields. Without any real evidence, I might end up killing the wrong guy."

Evangeline replied, "Once I finish drinking this, I'll start the worldwide search."

Dante replied, "Using the stuff I gave you?"

Evangeline quickly finished the pack and said, "No. I just need my magic."

Dante fell over before getting back up and saying, "Hey! Why did I get stabbed with my own sword for those stuff anyway?!"

Evangeline replied, "I needed a few flowers for my garden and a nice kimono for the Tea Ceremony Club. The Holy Water was my payment to the resident Miko for a job I had her do. Thank you for your effort Dante."

Dante sighed as he thought, _'So I was just her errand boy. This is like Lady and Trish all over again. Oh wait, it is! Why do I always find myself with the same type of women? Is it Karma or what?'_

Then Hakase entered the scene with a triple screen laptop and a projector on top of a movable desk with a core engine the size of a lawnmower underneath the electronic device. Hakase then typed away on the laptop and said, "The trans-dimensional search module is active. I'll put up the screen."

Hakase pushed the enter key on the keyboard and the projector's side wing panels opened up allowing the projector to hover right above them and show a digital interface of the world map below them.

They stood up and Kokoa gasped as she saw the flat map on her feet, "What is this?"

Mizore replied, "It's a hologram of the human world."

Kurumu replied, "Sugoi! So this is CG technology. It's so cool."

Yukari asked Hakase, "Can we go to anywhere from the world with this?"

Hakase shook her head and said, "No, unfortunately. Instant teleportation requires a high level of magic and technology. Right now, you will be able to see what's going on in the world today. And more importantly, find the hell gates."

Evangeline stood in the center of the map and said, "Clear the area. I'm going to cast a search spell now."

Dante and the rest took up the coolers and placed to the sides where the map didn't reach. They all stood in the sidelines and Ruby said to Yukari, "Yukari-chan, let's pay attention to what Evangeline is going to do. She is about to cast a high level search spell."

Yukari nodded as Evangeline raised her two arms up and said, "Lic Lac La Lac Lilac! **Συλλέξτε, πνεύματα του σκοταδιού. Βρείτε την πόρτα σας στην κόλαση και γίνετε **

**(**Gather, spirits of darkness. Find the doorway to hell and become a shining star for—)

**ένα λάμποντας αστέρι για τα πλάσματα του σκοταδιού.** "

(The creatures of darkness.)

Evangeline's hands began to glow with a dark energy around it. It was nothing like the Yokai aura that the group of Tsukune was used to for this one was deeply concentrated that their sensitive senses could feel was more powerful than any demonic aura they've ever felt in their lives.

The wind picked up and they had to shield themselves from its intense energy. Evangeline jumped up and at the height of her jump, she threw the black energy on the map while shouting, "**ΛΑΜΠΤΗΡΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΣΚΟΤΑΔΙΟΥ**"

(LAMP OF DARKNESS)

The black energy spread over the map until several interconnected magic circles shone all over the map at distinct and strategic areas. Evangeline then hovered above the map and said, "It feels good to be able to use my powers again."

Yukari and Ruby had stars in their eyes as the younger one shouted, "That was amazing! Evangeline-san is awesome!"

Kokoa crossed her arms and said, "That's it? What's so special about that anyway?" though she said that, she felt the power radiating from the map and it was enough to send a cold shiver up her spine and make her legs weary and shaky.

Moka however, found it special since Evangeline was hovering three inches above the map without wings. She realized something was unusual and said, "Evangeline-san, are you a Shinso?"

This caught the ears of the Yokai group. Evangeline smiled and said, "Finally, you realized it. Yes, I am a high daylight walker."

Tsukune faced Moka and asked, "Moka-san, what is a Shinso?"

Moka replied, "A Shinso is a vampire that is immune to sunlight. They heal faster than normal vampires and can fly with ease. They are vampires that cannot be killed by a sword or a gun. You can say that they are the elite of all the vampire races."

"WHAT?!" Tsukune yelled.

Kokoa gaped and said, "S-s-she's a Shi-shinso?!"

Dante said to them as he looked on the map, "Pretty much. So where are those gates?" He looked on the map and saw that there were blue shining gates on parts of North America. Most of which are dotted all over California, New York, Quebec and Alabama. The blue ones were the gates that were taken cared of and destroyed so there were no fears of an outbreak.

He then looked at the other areas of the world and saw many blue gates all over Western Europe, parts of Southern Africa, India and Central Asia. He scanned the map again and saw yellow gates all over South America, some in North America, most of Russia, Africa, South-east Asia, Japan and Eastern Europe as well as Antartica and Australia. These were the gates that were sealed but still active. Not all hell gates were destroyed since there wasn't always a more powerful force able to destroy them. Dante paid close to these gates and said, "See these ones? These are the sealed hell gates. The only colors you see are blue and yellow. The blue ones are the destroyed gates meaning we have no problems. But if you find a red one, then we'll be riding off there."

Yukari replied as she looked at the map, "So we'll go to those places if it turns red and destroy the gates right? But if we know who's opening them, won't it be easier to stop him instead?"

Dante replied, "I wish I could. I know who he is but there's no real proof that he's doing it. He's politically powerful and has the money to pay my debt three times over. A guy like that knows how to keep his hands clean and the fact that he's all over the place makes my job that much harder. I've got friends looking into it but so far, I've got nothing."

Evangeline floated towards Tsukune and landed in front of him, startling the half vampire and causing him to back up a bit. But as she did, Hakase suddenly said, "There's a strong reading of demonic energy concentrating in a place in the United States. The city of Oakland to be exact." After she had said that, a blinking red gate appeared in the location of the city.

Dante said, "Time for me to get a plane ticket. Does anyone have a cellphone I can borrow?"

Hakase tossed him her phone. Dante caught the green phone and flipped it open and noticed the arms for the ears on it. He dialed away on the phone and saw a second call button and pressed it. Now while his first line was in waiting, he dialed again and then pressed the link button and quickly placed the phone over his ear so that it hung from his ear while he looked at the map. When both lines picked up, he said, "Hey there Trish and Lady. We've got a hell gate open."

Both women on the line spoke, "Where?" they were surprised that Dante was able to get them to talk together but nonetheless shoved it aside for the more pressing matter. Trish asked first, "So where is it?"

Dante replied, "It's in Oakland." He looked over the computer and saw the exact location. "It's in a convenience store in East Fourteenth Street. I'm going there right now."

Hakase responded again, "There's another gate opening. It's the one in Munich, Germany."

Another red gate popped up and Kurumu saw it and said, "This one is in China. How is this all happening?"

Evangeline replied as she looked at the map, "It's a large scale invasion. The war is beginning again. Whoever this Sebastian Jenkins is, he has a lot of manpower to open these gates."

The group from Yokai Academy where puzzled once again and Dante said, "So Lady, How fast can you get to Oakland?"

Lady replied, "Lucky for you, I'm in an American base right now. I'll take care of that place for you. How about you Trish? Germany or Asia?"

Trish replied, "I'll stop by and get myself some Chinese food. Hopefully, the demons there aren't dragon shaped or possessed monks. Those can get really nasty to handle."

Dante replied, "So I get Germany. At least I'll get a new car this time." He took off the phone and ended the call. He walked to Hakase and said as he handed the phone, "Here. Thanks."

Moka said out loud, "It's almost like we're part of a spy movie where we have to get to several locations around the world."

Dante faced her and said, "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the business. You just need to stay here and watch this place for me."

Kokoa complained, "So we'll just sit here and do nothing. That's boring."

Hakase replied, "Actually, while Dante is gone, we should turn this place into a base of operations. It's outside of the school grounds so there are no problems with permission from the principal and it won't be noticed by the public since it's in the middle of a forest."

Tsukune replied, "But how will we do that?"

Mizore replied, "We can make a war tent over this place and fill it with equipment. With our numbers, it would be the easiest to do."

Kurumu replied, "Nice going Mizore. Let's get to it. Where's the storage room?"

Hakase replied, "Most of the tents are in the Library Exploration Club over at Library Island. But I still have my experimental one in the school storage room. I'll show you where it is." _'Good thing it's summer vacation so barely anybody is around.'_

Evangeline said to them, "I'll stay here and watch the map. Someone needs to maintain the magic."

So the Yokai group plus Hakase ran to the school storage room while Dante ran through the school towards the bridge until on the way there, a black and white Nissan Crew pulled over beside him and Trish rolled down her window in the backseat. Dante saw her and said, "Hey beautiful! What's the fare to Munich from here? Cause I'm broke and the best I could pay up is with my guitar playing and my good looks. Will that be enough?"

Trish replied as she opened the door, "Hop in handsome. We've got a place where your skills are needed."

Dante scooted his way in and closed the door letting Riiko shift gears and drive towards the seaside of Mahora Campus. With Riiko at the wheel and Amu in the front, it was a little crowded with Trish and Night in the backseat not to mention Dante.

Amu turned around on her seat and saw Dante. She pointed at Dante and said with saucers for eyes, "AH!!! Y-you!"

Dante saluted to her and said, "Welcome back. So what brings you here?"

Night asked him, "Do you know each other?"

Dante replied, "Of course we do. So what's your story?"

Trish replied, "He's the one hundred million yen robot boyfriend of Riiko, our driver."

Dante was surprised and said, "One hundred million? Trish, did you blackmail them into this?"

Trish replied, "I just offered a helping hand for the debt they owe. We are getting paid royalties for this anyway."

Dante replied, "You got that right. So how are we getting to our destination? By boat?"

Trish replied, "By plane. I called in a favor and got ourselves a carrier to take us there."

Riiko asked as she drove on the port road, "You got a plane? How did you get that?" _'I have a bad feeling about these people. They don't look like they can be trusted, that much I already know.'_

Trish replied, "That's not important. What is however, is to keep your eyes on the road."

Riiko looked closely to her front and saw as she entered the port, a white C-2 Greyhound. It was parked right outside the harbor and had its rear entrance opened so they could enter directly from the road.

Trish said to them, "Just drive into it. We'll be able to fit."

Riiko did as she was told and drove into the plane. When they entered into it's hull, Riiko drove over to a yellow line just behind a metal wall and parked the car just in front of it. Afterwards, the plane quickly started its engine and closed its rear entrance.

Dante said out loud, "You know Trish, dragging these people in makes our jobs that much harder."

Trish replied nonchalantly, "More people means less effort for the two of us."

Riiko then asked them, "Wait a minute here….who are you people anyway? Are you guys enemy spies sent to attack the U.S.?!"

Both Trish and Dante laughed as the plane took off. Luckily, there were automatic locking mechanisms that held onto the wheels of the car so they wouldn't fall back from the sudden rise or drop in altitude as the plane lifted off towards the blue sky at it's maximum cruising speed.

When they lifted off and were at twelve thousand feet in the air, Trish saw Riiko's suspicious gaze and replied, "We're not spies attacking the U.S. We're freelancers hired to do a job and one of those places is in the U.S. I'm surprised you overheard me awhile ago."

Riiko's eyes widened as she thought, _'So that means they're mercenaries. I was wrong. This isn't like one of those gangster movies, This is like that live action TV series, Black Lagoon and she must be Balalaika!'_

Riiko began sweating heavily as she assessed Trish and Dante. By this time, the plane was at a stable altitude allowing the two pilots to exit the cockpit and enter the next room to greet their passengers in the hull. The two pilots were wearing old war uniforms from the war against Vietnam. One had swept back brown hair and a rough beard while the other had unkempt, short blonde hair and a chiseled face with a small scar on his right eyebrow.

Dante got out of the car and the rest followed his example as the blonde haired pilot walked to them and said, "Welcome aboard everyone. I'm John Tobias, the head pilot here. My friend here is Tony Thompkins. I hope everyone is doing well."

Dante replied, "We're fine. This is a nice looking plane you got here. How old is this thing?"

Tony replied, "It's been in service since the Vietnam War. But now, we're officially retired so John bought it off before they could decommission it."

Amu and her other compatriots looked around. Aside from the metal ceiling, passed the yellow line where the car was parked, the rest of the hull was modified with a metal shutter door to separate the cargo room from the rest of the plane. The two pilots opened the human sized metal door to the far right corner of the wall and led them into the next section and pressed a panel to the right of the plane and shut the room behind them. They looked at this room and saw that it had electronic panels and computers with three screens to the wall in the right and to the left were four beds that were parallel to the wall in a bunk bed fashion. They were held together by a set of chains and a special railing to the right side of the bed made sure that those who slept wouldn't fall over in case of a sharp turn. But that wasn't all. The side of the plane with beds also had ten lockers filled with who knows what and some metal crates that obviously look like a weapon's cache. And to the very front was another metal section divider with one door in the center that obviously led to the cockpit.

Amu looked around in awe and said, "Sugoi! So this is what the inside of a plane looks like."

Night looked around and said, "I've never seen something like this before."

Dante walked over to the computer and turned it on. The three screens blinked before they started up and Dante saw that one screen contained a radar, the other screen was a normal computer and the last one seemed to be a medical uplink type with information on the status of the two pilots, Dante and company, as well as a third man who was a mix of African and Asian descent.

Dante then looked around and said, "Where's the other guy? I don't see tall dark and handsome around."

"Are you talking to me?" said a dark skinned man who just entered the room from the cockpit. He was about six feet tall with silver eyes and long black hair that reminded them of a lion's mane. He wore a white tank top with the word MEDIC written in red on the back and green camouflage cargo pants and the same color of military boots. He wore a brown utility belt and the same color of worker gloves while carrying a steel bat in his right hand and a stethoscope and dog tags around his neck.

He walked towards them and John replied, "This here is the other crew of the plane, JD Leongale. But we all call him Löwe. He's the resident medic so if any of you get hurt, just see him. He'll fix you faster than you can blink."

Amu, Riiko and Night sweatdropped looking at the thuggish looking man. They all thought as they stared at him, _'He looks like a predator than a healer.'_

Trish cleared her throat and said, "So how far till we get to China?"

Tony replied, "We'll be there in five minutes at the speed we're going. How long do you think this mission will take?"

Trish replied, "We don't know for sure. But we may have to raid a base in Romania at the end of all of this so it will take a while."

Night heard this clearly and said to Trish, "Wait. You said that after we robbed the bank, we would be able to pay for our debts. Why are we doing this?"

Trish faced him and said, "Night, it was supposed to be that way. But the bank we robbed was empty except for the box that I stole from it. Until we find someone who can buy that box from us, we won't be able to pay your debts. And by my calculations, the contents are only worth half of what we should've expected."

Riiko slammed her fist lightly on her other hand and said, "So that's why there wasn't so many bags in the car. We're doing whatever this mission is to pay the full amount or at the very least, the rest of the money right?"

Amu looked at Trish and the blonde woman replied, "Something like that."

However the pink haired girl wasn't buying it any longer and said, "Trish-san, do we need their help this time too?"

Riiko looked at Amu and back at Trish. In fact, she looked at everyone else and saw that only her and Night were oblivious of what was going on. Riiko wasn't a fool when it came with people. She may not be the smartest nor the toughest person in that room, but she knew the hearts of people better than anyone else and the motives behind it despite her naturally pure heart. And right now, her heart was telling her that she was being dragged into something far deeper than she could imagine and Amu was very concerned at this point.

Trish was about to reply to Amu until Riiko cut in and said, "Trish-san, tell me, what is really going on? I want to know the truth."

Dante looked at Trish with eyes that said, 'no use hiding'. Trish too knew that it would come down to this so she said, "Riiko, you and Night are caught in a mess much greater than your own. Dante and I, are devil hunters and we are on a mission to stop them and their masters."

Riiko looked at her as if she was crazy. She replied, "Oh. I see." She and Night turned around and Night said, "See you later then."

Amu asked the two as they were walking away, "How are you going to walk out of here?"

Riiko and Night stopped and Riiko suddenly said as she held her hair, "I was wrong again! This isn't a mercenary story….this is a HORROR FILM LIKE THE OMEN!"

Dante chuckled and said, "Take it easy. We're not going that far….well, at least not yet anyway."

Night said to Riiko as he shook her back and forth, "Get a hold of yourself Riiko. Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll protect you okay?"

Riiko looked into Night's lovely eyes and his handsome face. She blushed until both of them realized they were being watched and promptly stopped what they were doing at the time. Riiko then snapped to attention and said, "So all this time…we weren't really robbing a bank were we?"

Trish replied, "Actually, we did. I lied about the bank robbery and made the plan so that the both of you wouldn't get involved. That way, Amu and I, who were experienced in fighting demons, could exterminate all the demons hiding in that bank. But, certain things happened and I ended up having to rob the bank anyway."

Riiko was shocked even more than before. To be caught up in all of this made her heart skip beats several times. She asked Trish, "All of this is really happening right? But why are we involved?"

Night chipped in, "Yeah. What does this have to do with us?"

Löwe took the liberty of pulling up foldable chairs and a rectangular table to the middle of the room. He set the table down and the chairs and politely said, "If we're going to talk about shit that some cracka started, it'd be better to talk it over a game of cards. I'm sorry about my French but my English sounds a lot worse."

He took out a pack of cards and set it on the table and Dante sat down to the side behind the computers as the dark skinned man and John pulled out some poker chips and shuffled the cards. Trish took her seat beside Dante while Night and Riiko looked between each other before sitting down across Dante and Trish while keeping their guard up. However Amu was blushing and shell-shocked and had her hands to her mouth while her Shugo Charas imitated her and Su said in retaliation, "That man just said a bad word! He needs to learn his manners!"

Miki and Ran restrained her as John looked at Amu and said, "Sorry about my friend here. I forgot there was a kid on board. Sit down. We're not gonna hurt you."

Amu quickly took her seat across the table while Tony sat at the other end and John sat beside Trish while Löwe sat beside Night. The dark skinned man then passed out the cards and said, "Do you all know how to play poker?"

They took their cards in their hands while Amu, the only one who doesn't know how to play poker took the cards but looked uneasy. Dante broke the ice and said, "Hey Trish, how are these two involved anyway?"

Trish replied, "Night over there is a walking set of keys."

Tony was a little disturbed and looked at Night with slight amusement. He replied to Trish, "That is why you brought them over in the first place. You thought that by carrying him with you, you would be able to keep an eye out for him because he could open every Hell Gate without his own knowledge."

Amu, Night, Riiko and John were absolutely surprised. Tony sought this as an opportunity to speak once more. "But that also means that he's a pivotal piece in the enemy's plan making us walking targets. And as long as we keep moving, they'll reveal themselves by mistake in the process of chasing us. Am I right so far?"

Trish nodded and said, "I'm glad you already have a plan."

Tony went back to his cards and tossed in a few chips in the center. Dante looked at Riiko and Night and replied, "Well, there you have it. To make things simple, the bad guy needs him if they want what we think they want…to unleash an army of demons on the face of the earth."

Amu dropped her cards in shock as she replied, "T-th-that's horrible." _'Everyone will get killed...'_

Riiko looked down and slightly slumped her shoulders. She thought, _'The end of the world. and Night is the one who can start it. Trish was just protecting us all this time. It makes sense now but still…why Night?'_

By the time Riiko looked up to see the table, the chips were stacked and everyone had their cards down. Tony had the highest hand, three queens and two jacks.

Riiko looked up and said with a frown, "I understand what's going on now. I won't let them have Night. We will survive in order to protect this world."

Dante smiled and said, "Good words. But do you have the hand to back it up?"

Riiko tossed down the cards for them to see. Royal Straight Flash. Suite of Spades. Tony smirked and thought, _'At least she's got the devil's own luck on her side. But luck won't be enough to defeat Sebastian Jenkins. He has the country of Romania supporting him and fallback point in Mongolia in his nuclear power plant there.'_

John got up and said, "I think it's about time we get set. We'll be landing soon." John walked towards the cockpit until Amu said, "How do you know we're already landing?"

John replied offhandedly, "My intuition of course." He then opened the door to the cockpit and quickly took his seat. Amu had question marks all over her head as she said, "Huh?!"

Dante laughed and said, "That guy doesn't even have a shred of intuition."

Riiko, Amu and Night looked confused as Tony went to the cockpit and shut the door behind him. Trish got up and said, "Riiko, you and Night are the most important people on this mission as of now. So whether you like it or not, you'll be stuck with us."

Night nodded and said, "I don't really understand what's going on but if it sounds that bad, we'll help out."

Dante looked to Amu and said, "Amu, after they drop us off, stay in the plane and ask them to send you home. You don't need to be here."

Amu replied, "Eh? But I still owe—" Dante cut in as he rubbed Amu's head, "It's alright. Little girls need to grow up to become strong women. So stay at home and grow up to become strong where you have people who care about you. I'll take care of the bill."

Dante looked over the monitor and said, "We're flying over China right now. Trish, I'll leave the other two in your hands. Don't break them while I'm gone."

Trish replied, "Don't worry. I won't bite them."

Trish said to Night and Amu as she looked through the lockers, "You'll need to defend yourselves now that you know what's going on. Night, give me a hand here."

Night went to Trish and helped her carry the weapons and armaments needed for this mission to the Nissan Crew.

Riiko however went to Amu and knelt down to her level and said, "I guess this is where we part ways." Amu replied, "Riiko-san…why are you still doing this even though you don't have the power to fight back?" Riiko was caught off guard by that question. But she smiled and said, "Because I believe that whatever I can give to help them protect this world, I'll give it and give my best with it. I've never been good at anything and always act before I think, but this world means a lot to me. All my friends and my family…and everyone in it. So I'll help them."

Night then opened the door from the back of the plane and said, "Riiko, we'll be landing soon." Riiko stood up and said to Amu before she left, "Take care Amu-chan!" Riiko turned around and followed Night to the back room, leaving Dante and Amu in that room.

Dante sat down by the table and placed his feet over it. Amu sat down on one of the bunk beds where Ran flew to her and said, "Amu-chan…what do we do now?"

Amu replied, "I really don't know. I don't want to be a part of this, but I can't just leave it alone." Miki said to her with a straight face, "Then don't decide yet." Su put her hands together and said, "Amu still hasn't found her true self yet. With Dante-san and his friends saving the world, you have all the time to find your true self together with everyone back home."

Amu thought about what Su said and remembered her family and friends back in Japan. _'That's right. Everyone is still waiting for me back home. Papa, Mama and Ami and Tadase-kun also.'_

Suddenly, the plane landed by the Hong Kong harbor and slowly but surely turned around so that it can dock and the car can directly drive to the road.

In the car, Riiko sat at the front as the driver with Night beside her and Trish at the back. Riiko turned the ignition key and turned on the air conditioner. Riiko looked behind to see Trish and sweatdropped to see her with an AA12 on her left, an AK-47 beside it with several magazines for it…two Uzis with some magazines on her right, beside that was a Beowulf with several magazines as well. On Trish's feet was a Javelin with a few rounds, a FAMAS with several magazines, two Desert Eagles, an Operator with built in flashlight and a suppressor, a Buckmark pistol with integral suppressor and about fifteen impact grenades and four ready made C-4.

Riiko thought as her hair stood up slightly, _'Are we heading into a warzone?!' _Riiko said with bug-eyes, "What do we need all that for? Are we landing in a warzone?!"

Trish replied, "We might be. A Hell Gate has been activated here in China. We don't know who's doing it but we do know that a lot of demons will attack so we need to get ready for anything."

Night replied, "Hey isn't this like that game called….what was it called again?"

Riiko replied, "So we're sharing the weapons and fighting them right?"

Trish replied as she brought out her custom made, black pistols that look like replications of Ebony and Ivory. Trish replied, "I've got mine right here. The rest are yours."

Riiko and Night looked at her as if she was crazy. Night replied, "But we don't know how to use these things!" Trish replied, "Just access your database on weapons and you'll be able to fire them and reload as necessary."

The back door opened and Riiko saw from her rear mirror, many people running away as several tiger-like demons with black fur and red stripes and several horns chasing them down. Riiko was horrified to see the demons and felt like vomiting. Trish replied, "All you have to do is drive towards the source. Night and I will keep the demons at bay from reaching the car."

Riiko replied, "But what about the people? We're not going to leave them to die are we?!"

Trish replied, "We'll save who we can on the way but if we don't stop the portal, then we won't be able to save anyone."

Riiko nodded as the locks on the wheels released and she stepped on the brake and put down the e-brake and shifted gears to reverse. She drove back as Trish handed them each an Uzi. As the car drove back towards the street, Trish got out through the left backseat window and stood up on top of the car. She fired two lightning charged shots at one entrance to the right of the car and another set just behind them. The two entrances were blocked allowing the citizens to single file from the exit to the left side of the harbor. The car landed on the street and Trish said as she looked around, "There's a portal open at your two o'clock. Drive there."

Night and Riiko looked outside to see the portal that spanned into the sky. It was a crimson and black veined rip in the sky that stood vertically. You could literally feel the evil from the harbor itself as worms and tunnels of black winds floated in and out of it into the present world. Riiko grew pale from fright at seeing it and said, "Wha-what is that?"

Trish replied, "That's a Hell Gate. Normally they're dormant but when completely active, it looks like that. We really don't have much time so let's stop it before the really dangerous demons come out. Don't worry about me. Just keep driving towards it. That's all you have to do."

Riiko shivered and said, "Bu-bu-but drive there?!" Night put a hand on her shoulders and said, "I'll protect you Riiko." Riiko nodded and said, "Okay. Just drive there right? Let's go then."

Riiko drove the car into another street headed straight for the rip in the sky to hopefully stop it. As they drove towards what could be their doom, five of the tiger demons chased them from rooftop to rooftop and five from both sides of the street. Their eyes had no pupils so their stare at the black and white Nissan Crew was intimidating. Night aimed the Uzi at the ones to the right, and fired in burst shots, wounding them enough to slow down. The other five on Riiko's side charged hard and Riiko shot them down by reflex with her right hand while keeping the car steady with her left. She stepped on the gas harder and tried to outrun them. The five on the buildings leaped down to take down the car, only for Trish to jump up in the air and spin at inhuman speeds while shooting at them and landing back on the top of the car before waving her left hand behind her, sending a wave of electricity to finish the job, killing their pursuers.

Seeing that the road was still clear, Trish jumped back in to the back seat through the window she just came from. Riiko and Night were surprised by what Trish had just done because this time, they saw her moves clearly and saw her abilities with lightning.

Night looked at Trish and said, "Wait. What just happened back there?"

Trish replied, "I killed the demons." Riiko replied, "It was so fast….It's already the Matrix!"

Night asked her, "Trish, did you just shoot lightning at them?"

Trish replied, "Bullets can't solve all our problems. Sometimes, we need an edge."

Riiko continued driving until four black winged demons with yellow eyes and a human's body landed a few feet in front of them. Riiko pressed on the brake and reflexively shifted a gear down while pulling up on the e-brake and quickly turning the wheel to the left, causing the car to drift towards them with the right side of the car facing the demons. Night and Trish opened fire on the demons, causing them to shield themselves with their wings and wobble back in pain from the bullets piercing their flesh until the car hit them and drifted over them. When the demons were lying prone on Riiko's side of the car, she steadily turned the wheel to the right before jerking it back left, to continue the car into a full rotation until the front was facing the main road towards the portal. Riiko quickly counter steered and hit the gas allowing the car to continue on its pace but not before Trish threw a grenade back that landed in the mouth of one of the prone demons. The demon went wide-eyed until the grenade exploded, sending them into an inferno in the background while Riiko drove forward.

Night looked back at to see the explosion and said, "Wow! That was cool!" Trish replied, "Not as cool as Riiko's driving. Where did you learn to drift like that?"

Riiko replied, "I learned from watching a video on the internet about a street racer who drive's an eighty-six Trueno." Trish chuckled and said, "It seems you've found your talent." _'She learned how drive like this in two days and has the reflex of a martial artist from the way she quickly fired that Uzi. What she doesn't learn quickly with her mind, she learns through her body and the fact she learned from just watching a video means she also has a photographic memory. This girl is talented but doesn't realize it. I wonder how far her talents reach…'_

Riiko made a hard turn to the right as a building chunk fell down in front of them while the local authorities tried to fend off the demons left and right. It was absolute chaos as Riiko took the right road where five nine feet tall demons made of rocks and flesh slowly walked and brushed aside the bullets that the local law fired from their MP5s and pistols behind rubble, cars and street corners. Trish said, "Stop the car." Riiko stopped the car right in front of the three story building in that street. The car was just about a few meters away from the golem-like demons and just behind the task force sent to stop them. Trish got out of the car and said, "You two stay here and give supporting fire. We won't be able to move if they're in the way." She leaped over the car and ran towards the demons amidst the cars thrown at her and the task force that hid and ran for safety. Trish leaped on top of one thrown car and dove through the window of another car in mid-air and landed on top of one mid-air car and leaped from it so that she was right on top of one golem, balancing on it's head using her twin pistols. She charged electricity on it and fired before the demons noticed her. The demon she shot was blown to smithereens while the other demons shielded themselves from the smoke created by their fallen comrade. One golem demon looked around and got a missile to its head. It stumbled a bit before regaining balance and looking to where it came from.

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Night helped Riiko reload another one in the Javelin. Riiko aimed at the golem carefully from behind a broken down truck where she wouldn't be seen. Night then said to Riiko, "It's ready."

Riiko waited for the golem to move and when it took a step with it's right foot, Riiko pulled the trigger and blew apart the golem's right foot at the ankle joint, causing the golem to fall down backwards on his comrades, creating a domino effect. With the demons prone, Trish, from on top of a nearby telephone pole, was holding its transformer with her left hand. She threw it at the prone golems and when it landed on top of them, she fired two electrically charged shots at the transformer and created a mini lightning bomb as huge kilowatts of electricity surged through the demons and blew them up. Trish holstered her guns behind her and leaped down to land on the battle-scarred floor where Riiko and Night drove to her side. Riiko stopped the car and Trish got in, allowing them to drive onwards towards the portal where demons roamed around left and right as they got deeper to the source. Most of the demons if not all, were the ones they were facing just a few minutes ago and now there were hundreds of them in the areas closer to the source.

Riiko, Night and Trish fired left and right as the Nissan Crew drove by, leaving the demons in their wake to feel the pain of lead. It was one long drive by and ammo was running short for the three-man team. Night stopped firing and said, "Stop firing. We need to conserve our ammo to get out of here."

Trish replied, "Good call." Riiko stopped firing as well and said, "I can see where they're all coming from. We're almost there." Trish looked at how much ammunition they had left and realized that the only guns they had left was the AA12, the pistols and the FAMAS. They still had the Javelin and about fourteen more grenades and the two C-4s but with hundreds of demons around, the situation was like something out of Resident Evil—survivability IS the goal.

Riiko drove the car fast and furiously until they saw a plaza, about two hundred by two hundred square meters in over all area in front. There was a round fountain in the middle with stone guardians holding up two pitchers of water that faced in opposite directions with a human on top of a tiger in the epicenter of the work of art. But what made it astounding to see was that the rift in the sky hovered right above it making the fountain the Hell Gate. Trish saw it ahead and said, "That's it. Once we break that gate, the demons will be forced to be summoned back."

Riiko brightened up and said, "Let's end this."

But as she entered the plaza, a spear suddenly landed in front of the car, causing Riiko to break and shift the car to the right so it took the whole width of the narrow street with the length of the car. When the car stopped. Trish got out to the side of that car that faced the plaza and Night and Riiko followed with Riiko holding the AA12 and the Operator and Buckmark pistol with integral suppressor as her side arms while Night had the Javelin slung on his back and had the remaining grenades and C-4 with him while he armed himself with a FAMAS and the twin Desert Eagles as his side arms.

Trish looked up and said, "You look like someone I know."

Night and Riiko looked up to see a white tiger with green eyes and bat wings. It wasn't like other tigers in that its frame was humanoid thought the tail, claws and head remained tiger. But it also wore purple Chinese armor and a red sash around its waist with the knot on the back. The tiger had menacing eyes as he floated down to the ground. He raised his right arm and the spear that was launched at them earlier returned to his hand. As he held the spear confidently and slowly descended to the floor, he replied, "I haven't seen a familiar face since Sparda's betrayal. But to think it comes in human flesh makes the meeting absurd, Trish."

Riiko was surprised and thought, _'They know each other?!'_

Trish replied as the tiger warrior landed, "Full of pride and a noble warrior. You haven't changed at all Lao Kahn the shadow of Lu Bu."

Night was very confused and said, "Hey Trish, the two of you know each other?"

Lao Kahn replied, "We were once comrades in Mundus' army until she betrayed us and joined the side of the humans. Why would a demon as powerful as you join them?!"

Riiko and Night were wide-eyed by what they heard. Riiko looked at Trish and thought, _'No way. She was a demon? It makes sense now how she could do moves like that. She really isn't human at all. But she doesn't look like a demon.'_

Night had that same thought and said, "But Trish doesn't look anything like the monsters around here. She's not a demon!"

Lao Kahn replied, "You're a fool. No wonder you need a traitor like her to fight for you. Demons have the ability to shape shift in order to blend in with their surroundings so they can fulfill their wishes. Trish is no different."

Night replied in anger, "No, you're wrong! Trish is different. Even if she is a demon, she's still human at heart!"

Trish and Riiko were surprised and looked at Night with wide-eyed surprise. Lao Kahn was furious now and they could see it. The tiger said as he gripped his spear tighter, "Boy…How the hell did you come up with that?! Trish in her current form is a human but that's only on the outside. But the fact IS that she is a demon in her blood and her unnatural strength, speed, senses and her lack of human emotions makes her inhuman. She is cold and calculating. The fact she brought you here is because she knows that she cannot defeat the enemy alone so she needs shields for a tactical victory and you're it. And what you don't really see here is that demons don't change. And that IS A FACT!"

Night replied, "Well I'll prove it to you. She does have a heart." Riiko steeled herself and said, "Night is right. Even if the things Trish does is scary, she never abandoned us. She never tried to brush us aside because she values our lives."

Lao Kahn shouted back in anger, "SHE ONLY DOES SO BECAUSE SHE NEEDS YOU! Why can't you get that straight?!"

Riiko replied, "Even if we have something she needs, then why are we still alive?" Lao Kahn was speechless allowing Riiko to continue. "We are alive not for any reason that makes sense but because she loves us for who we are and loves our lives. That is something that only humans can do. Getting angry about it just shows that you too are not just a demon because even anger is an emotion that doesn't always make sense."

Lao Kahn then spat several curses to her in his language and it was horrible to hear whether you understood or not. Trish replied, "I have some business to take care of here. why don't you two protect our rear. Those demons won't let up back there and we could get overrunned."

Riiko and Night nodded and ran to the car to keep the demons behind at bay while Trish took care of the monster in front of her. Lao Kahn held in his tongue and readied his spear forward as he held it in both hands with his left closer to the spear point and his right closer to the other end as he stood in a horse stance and had his left leg forward as the spear pointed at Trish.

Trish replied, "I'll answer your questions once you've beaten me in a fair match. But if I win, you go back and take your minions with you."

Lao Kahn replied, "Agreed. But this won't be the last time we see each other. I will be back and I will take your head." Trish replied, "Thank you for the compliment. At least some people in that world know how to be honorable."

She aimed her guns at him and they had a short stare down with eyes locking and neither one losing focus. Lao Kahn was brimming with anger that he mustered to control while Trish zeroed in on his powerful form that stood roughly nine feet tall. The tension was so thick that you could choke alone from the air around them.

Lao Kahn said to her, "Your move."

Trish replied with a smile, "Well then…Let's Rock!"

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Dante sneezed as he stood just outside the German airport. He said as he entered a red bus, "Either Trish is talking about me, or Lady. Well I'll find out later when I see them. Can't wait to get my hands on some pizza later."

**|03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|03|03||03|03|03|**

Here it is folks. Not much to say this time.

A lot of action is in this one and another boss stage with Trish doing the fighting. I wonder how on earth Lady will handle being in Oakland? Then again, how will they handle an army of demons? Though I could see Dante going Wolfenstein on Germany it would be hilarious with Lady. It's like Grand Theft Auto with a mix of Rambo and Tomb Raider. Anyway, I'll be seeing you soon.

Ja matta.


	4. Secret Mission 04: Devil's Paradise

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Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

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A/N: Hey there everyone. Did you like the action in the last chapter? There's plenty more here in this one so stay glued to your seats for this one.

Barkeep: That was intense. But how in the world did you get the money to pay for the casting? I mean there's a lot of people involved in this one.

Honestly, my funding is sponsored by no one.

Barkeep: So what company does no one work in?

Are you serious? No besides that, where's Dante?

Barkeep: He's in Munich remember?

Ohhh. I guess I'll have to hand in the script by tomorrow or something….then again it's better today. (Goes to a fax machine and faxes the script)

Barkeep: Hey that paper costs money!

Remember….funded by no one.

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 04:**_ Devil's Paradise_

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Trish fired away her guns as she strafed to the right to avoid a mad dash attack that Lao Kahn did with spear leading the way. Lao Kahn jumped up with spear spinning in the air. As he descended, he opened his mouth and fired purple balls of flame at her. She dodged the attacks only for him to land just in front of her with spear through her left leg and straight into the ground. She flinched in pain as Lao Kahn pulled the spear out of the ground with Trish's leg still on it and swung it to his right, sending her off from the spear and into the wall. Lao Kahn roared as Trish peeled herself off of it and steadily got back up as the wound in her leg healed rapidly.

Lao Kahn said as he readied his spear once more, "Rapid regeneration is not a human attribute. But as long as you stay in that form you will lose." He ran towards her again and made a spin kick only for Trish to duck and roll under him while he was in mid-air. When Lao Kahn landed, Trish jumped on top of him from behind like she was getting a piggy back ride. She aimed her guns at him at point blank but because he was moving around to shake her loose, she ended up firing at his body instead of his head. But nonetheless, she fired away hoping to eat away his flesh with her bullets until Lao Kahn ran backwards to ram her into the wall. But before she could get squished, she leaped off him in a forward summersault when he was five feet away from the wall. And while she was upside down in mid-air, she shot a wave of electricity that sent him to the wall nonetheless as it shocked him and burned through his flesh. She landed with her back facing him and aimed her guns at the fountain and shot two electrically charged shots at the fountain, destroying it completely.

The Hell Gate moaned in exasperation and agony as the demons began to wither away back as black wind that rose up to get sucked into the Hell Gate.

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Riiko and Night were worn out with smears of gunpowder and dirt on their faces from shooting behind their car. Their breathe was heavy while the demons in front of their makeshift barricade withered away. The couple's bodies were slightly shaky as Riiko held the AA12 and Night held the FAMAS while several bullet casings littered the front of their car and on the burnt floor.

Riiko exclaimed, "We did it!" Night wiped his face with his left arm and said, "Yeah. Its finally over."

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Trish faced Lao Kahn and saw his battered form slowly wither into black smoke as he sat helpless with his back against the wall. She said to him, "You never had a chance. It's just the same as before."

Lao Kahn sighed and said, "I admit defeat. You are the clear winner. But this isn't over yet."

Trish replied, "Do as you wish. But I'm curious about who sent you here."

Lao Kahn replied, "Even I don't know who he is. He calls himself Sebastian Jenkins. He said he needs us to become kings of this world."

Trish replied, "That solves almost nothing. I'm gonna need more than that."

Lao Kahn replied, "Hahaha. That's all I know Trish. And it will be all I know once I get back." he then groggily stands up and asks her, "But you haven't answered my question."

Trish replied, "I thought that I was never going to cry. But even devils do cry. That's why I left Mundus."

Lao Kahn furrowed his brows and said. "I see. You've become my enemy completely. We no longer are friends from now on." With that, Lao Kahn's form withered completely into black smoke and disappeared into the Hell Gate that shut tight leaving no traces of evil. It was as if the entire area had been lifted of a heavy burden with the absence of the demons.

Trish turned around and walked towards Riiko and Night. Riiko asked her, "Are we going back now?"

Trish said, "Yes. For now we go back."

The battle of Trish, Night and Riiko, for now, had finished.

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Currently in the sunny side of Germany, Dante was walking around Viktualienmarkt St. To be more precise, he was at the corner between Viktualienmarkt and Petersplatz St. He was supposed to destroy a Hell Gate located in the land of beer. He had just arrived and so far, everything looked peaceful. High noon marked the time and people were flooding the streets. Nothing but another routine day in this side of the world from the looks of things. Although, that should not fool you into a false sense of safety. For in Dante's world, routine for him, is extreme for us.

Dante looked around eyeing the scenery with care. He knew that things were not what they always seemed. But because he was eyeing the place with such sharpness, the eyes of those around him began to take notice as they walked by. The demon slayer thought. _'I thought these clothes were in style here? Oh, wait this outfit blends in at night, not broad daylight. Sheesh. At least I don't have to worry about somebody in blue uniforms stopping me.'_

But before he could make another mental remark, he felt his stomach growling to him. The demon slayer looked around a little and noticed a pizzeria in the building behind him. He thought as he walked into its doors, _'Finally! My kind of food. I wonder if they accept red orbs…'_

But when he stopped and looked around the room, he noticed that it was different from what he expected. It was filled with obese people sitting down to chomp on pizza for lunch and they showed no sign of stopping whatsoever. Even the cashier and some of the waiters were eating pizza themselves as they served the customers. The place had tables and seats to accommodate at least forty-eight people, and a kitchen opposite the front door separated by a typical swinging kitchen door behind the counter for the cashier. It seemed normal yet it still felt odd with this feeling of obsession flowing throughout the room.

The demon slayer thought, _'Is it just me or are these people doing something other than breaking restaurant policies? It looks like I came to the right place. But what the hell?'_

Dante looked and found an empty seat and sat down very casually. A waiter noticed him and came up to him with a sloppy face and asked, "May I take your order sir?" Dante replied, "I'll have what everybody's having." The waiter asked once more, "Anything you'd like to add sir?" Dante replied, "Strawberry milkshake. Make it the tallest glass you've got."

The waiter nodded slightly and walked to the kitchen door. Dante kept a keen eye on the waiter as he entered the kitchen door and the demon slayer noticed through the space the door made before closing, a chef holding a black trash bag in his left hand and a bloody, straight, rectangular sword in his right, walk around the kitchen. The demon slayer sat back and pulled out the cellphone he borrowed from Hakase and dialed the number of one of his friends, hoping to get in touch. Using the built in earhook, he hung the cellphone from his left ear and waited for someone on the other end to pick up his call.

Dante hears the phone pick up so he says, "Hey there, Lady. So how are things there in the infamous Oakland?"

But all he heard in reply were curses coming from the background before Lady replied, "The locals are too friendly down here." Dante answered, "That's because—"

"Don't even say it." Lady quickly cut in. "I've had enough with dirty old men and their schemes." Dante replied as he eyed the crowd, "Easy there. I think I found another source. Two for me, one for you." Lady replied, "Is that a challenge?" Dante replied as the waiter came back with his order, "Forget I said anything. I've got nothing to do with challenges."

As the waiter set down the order of pizza and strawberry milkshake, Dante noticed that the waiter's face wasn't messy anymore and that no one in the shop seemed to be getting up anytime soon. Dante asked the waiter, "Say, isn't it a little crowded in here?"

The waiter looked slightly amused and said, "Well….the guests do seem a little overburdened." Dante replied, "It doesn't look like anyone is getting out at all." The waiter kept his cool and said, "True. But I don't understand how this relates with anything." The waiter excused himself and walked back passed the kitchen door leaving Dante to his meal. The devil slayer took a sip from his milkshake and said, "At least their milkshake is good. Too bad their services are pretty poor."

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While Dante was busy lying low in the lion's den, Lady was a sheep in wolves' clothing in the den known as East Fourteenth Street of Oakland. It was roughly five minutes past four in the morning where she was as she stood in the sidewalk just across the seven eleven. Though no birds chirped, the peace and serenity of the silence during this time made her work much easier considering she was about to raise HELL so early in morning.

Lady looked to her front and saw the Seven Eleven with a small parking space at the front. Even though it was early in the morning, the parking space was filled with about seven cars. To her left, the street was empty and all of the stores were still closed while on her right was a white Mercedes Benz parked just outside Georgino's Salon. And from the looks of it, the two people in the car were cops on a stake out.

Lady looked back to the Seven Eleven and saw ten thugs waiting outside the store in a circle beside a red van. Lady was worried about the circumstances since there were many human bystanders in the way of her mission. But because the situation wasn't entirely favorable, she had no choice but to take the fight away from the crowd and into the heart of the infection itself.

Lady walked across the street, heading towards the convenience store, armed with a Desert Eagle holstered by her right hip and a combat knife on her left boot and a rectangular brown backpack so she can pull out the necessary supplies when she needs to.

When she entered the parking lot, the ten thugs stared at her with smiles that gave _huge_ hints on what was on their minds.

"Hey girl, wer u from?" asked a tall African-American thug dressed in a purple jersey and black shorts with white shoes.

Another African American thug in a gray shirt and brown shorts stared at her chest and said, "Dayumn! …shortie got double dees…mmm…um!"

The rest murmured and smiled as she approached them and focused her gaze on a fat Mexican thug with a crew cut and black cap and all white sweater and shorts. The man saw her holstered gun and said to her, "Nice piece you got der honey."

Lady replied, "Thank you. Do you have bigger ones in that van?"

A shaved head Caucasian thug in a green shirt and jeans said as he moved towards her while holding his crotch with his right hand, "I got one for free, if ya know wat I mean."

While the other thugs cheered and half-laughed, Lady wasn't amused. She _bluntly_ ignored them and walked towards the Seven Eleven. She pushed the door open allowing the chime to ring, alerting the seventeen year old, blonde, female cashier to the devil huntress' right.

"Welcome to Seven Eleven. How may I help you?" the blonde girl replied. She had a diagonal scar over her right eye that ran down her cheek and a smaller scar that ran along the edge of the right eye and close to the ears. Despite the scars, she didn't bother to hide it and had her hair in a low ponytail. Another thing that was unique about her was that she had a purple bandana over her head and a broken, silver lock used as a necklace. She also wore a black tube that ended one and a half inches below her bust and a low waist blue tattered jeans that showed the black strings of her thong. She also wore pink and white striped socks, red chucks, and a brown fingerless glove on her left hand.

Lady replied as she put her right hand on the counter and viewed the rest of the store, "Linda Mercy…a now full fledged zoanthrope thanks to your success at overcoming the raven's blood in your veins. You are also capable of both Eastern and Western Magic having graduated from the same school as Negi Springfield. Currently working as an information fence for both the United States government as well as the international black market. Has a photographic memory and level headed mind."

Linda responded while waving her right hand dismissively, "I'm just a humble mage at the service of the world."

Lady sighed and said, "Well, let's get to the point. Where is the gate?"

Linda replied as she crossed her arms under her bust, "The gate is here. It's in the janitor's closet at the very end of the storeroom. I managed to seal it temporarily but the seals won't hold for another thirty minutes. You'll have to end it quick. Destroying it from the outside won't work unless you stop the person channeling the demonic power to break through from their dimension into ours. After that, you'll need to rush out before I seal and destroy the physical gate."

Lady said as she took out her desert eagle and cocked it, "So that means this gate is potentially more destructive than the rest. We don't have time to spare. Let's get to it then."

The both of them walked towards the back of the store and into the storage. The square, storage room was lined with boxes that went almost all the way to the ceiling. Lady and Linda walked a little bit further into the room until they saw the janitor's closet to the side closest the least stack of boxes. The right corner of the room if you will. The door to the closet was locked tight and filled with Japanese Talismans and Runic Seals etched on its surface to give away the signal to _obvious danger_ behind such a place. You could feel the evil coming from the door and see the door rusting away from the dark nature behind it.

Lady took out a wireless radio transmitter and put it on her left ear.

Linda said to her, "That won't work down there. Electronic devices are useless in a place like that." Lady faced her and replied, "On the way down it won't, but I will need it on the way up. I'm not someone who'll get killed by people like Sparda."

Linda replied, "Okay. Just call me if something happens. My phone number is 101101."

Lady took out her Desert Eagle and aimed it at the door while with her other hand, held knob tightly. Now wasn't the time to take chances.

She opened it enough to squeeze half of herself in and saw nothing but darkness yet heard the faint sounds of gnashing of teeth. She noticed that there were no passageways but when she stepped completely through, she fell three feet down and landed on an invisible step. After the fall, she heard the door close behind her indicating that she was on her own now. Lady aimed her gun forward with her right hand and with her left hand, pulled out from the side pocket of her backpack, a greenish black heavy duty flashlight with four serrated, teeth-like like blades surrounding the top of the flashlight to make it look like a mace with an extended stabbing end. But that wasn't the only feature of the flashlight. It also had two buttons. One was red, the other white. Lady armed herself with the mace-like torch and pressed the white button to activate her flashlight and illuminate her path.

The devil huntress looked around and noticed that the path she was on wasn't invisible but it was just too dark to see. She was standing on parched, deathly brown dirt that was burnt beyond imagination and stunk of sulfur and rotting corpses. She had to cover her mouth and nose temporarily to stop the stench as it weakened her just from the odor sticking to her skin.

Lady thought, _'So this is why Dante hates this place. The feeling of darkness alone makes you want to run away but the stench just adds to the torture. If this goes on any deeper, I won't be able to last longer than five minutes in here.'_ So Lady made up her mind to finish the job much faster than expected. Her eyes had gotten a bit used to the darkness and now she can see a vast expanse of burnt land before her with pits here and there and small flashes of light that would glow every now and then from within them.

She walked further and heard the wails and cries of the damned souls pierce her ears as she just got used to the stench and the darkness. There was a tremendous feeling of hopelessness in the air and all manner of creatures inhumanly conceivable, ran around in the vulgar shadow. She treaded carefully with gun leading the way because now she could see the dangers that could've easily taken her had she made a wayward route and recklessly ran in the dark.

Lady looked to her left and saw a huge snake with horns and blackish grey scales and red eyes crawl around close to what look like the walls of the place. She couldn't see it very well for it slunk in the expanse of the dark. She then looked right and saw black furred, red-eyed rats the size of a car tire feed off of a blackened charred bone and a grayish, smoke-like substance surrounding it. The bone wiggled slightly every time the rats dug their teeth in the smoke like outline that looked to be the right upper arm of a person.

All in all, it was a fate worse than death itself. Lady wasn't planning on taking this torturous place any longer. She ran forward while still being mindful of the pits in the ground. She ran until she saw a twelve feet deep gorge that she could easily slide into. She then lay prone on the ground next to the edge of the gorge to spy on the demons in its depths.

From what Lady could see, the gorge was filled with blackened metal cages here and there with seven large demons guarding them. The demons were in humanoid form and at least nine feet tall with broken horns on their heads. Their faces were disfigured but their red eyes and sharp teeth could be distinguished making them an awful sight to behold. Their tall, genderless bodies were heavily built with muscles that would make any bodybuilder feel inadequate until you saw the black hair surrounding it. But to make things worse, they had blackish grey wings with dirty, rotting feathers that smelled like death and they even carried straight spears with a sharpened tip.

The tallest demon said to his comrades, "Nobody gets out. Make sure every single one of these fallen pay their dues." He then pointed to the skeleton in the cage.

The skeletons in the cages were charred black from constant burning. They had a grayish smoke-like outline that covered the skeleton but was transparent enough to see the bone beneath. The skeletons hung for their lives on the bars while not minding the melted flesh at the bottom of their feet. No doubt it was their flesh and these were souls condemned to hell for all eternity.

Lady began to tremble seeing the skeletons. She thought as she began biting her lip, _'W-what the hell is this place? Is this what's on the other side of the Hell Gate? This is inhumane…' _she carefully got up and slid down into the gorge making sure to turn of her flashlight so as not to alert the demons. But it wasn't long before one of the skeletons in the cage noticed her and screamed in a male voice, "Save me! Please save me! I've repented of my sins!"

The demons were alerted and quickly flew over to Lady who noticed the incoming demons and fired away her desert eagle at them. Six of the demons charged headfirst despite the bullets passing through their bodies as if they were an illusion. Lady saw how ineffective the bullets were and turned on her heel only to get a powerful, right-handed slap from the seventh demon that snuck up behind her. The attack sent her sprawling back into the arms of the six demons who quickly pinned her down on her back and stabbed away at her with their spears. Lady wailed and howled in pain like she never did before. It was almost as if the spears were wounding her very soul. Yet the reality was, _that _was its verypurpose.

The seventh demon said as he approached her, "You will not escape. You are our lord's servant. There is no hope."

The seventh demon stabbed his spear into her right eye, adding more injury to an insult of multiple injuries. Lady screamed as she wriggled in torment under their grasp. The six remaining demons let go, allowing the seventh to hoist her up with his spear, still stabbed through her right eye. He then reeled the spear back before snapping it forward like a fishing rod. This sent Lady flying forward into one of the empty black cages that snapped shut from the impact her body made, landing inside it.

Lady was now a prisoner of a cruel fate like the rest of the damned skeletons around her. She shriveled in constant agony from the wounds that steeped into the depths of her soul. She tried to hold herself while her blood slowly flooded the floor. But the pain was too much to bear.

Despite the throbbing in the right side of her head and the tears of blood from her right eye, the seven demons gave no mercy as they stood around her cage with spears pointed at her.

Lady had her remaining eye, wide open as the fear now gripped her so tightly. She couldn't think let alone breathe as the demons thrust their spears into the cage. It was the end. There was no hope.

"Stop!" Said a stern voice.

The demons halted their attack, leaving the spears to simply prick Lady's already, bloody and pierced flesh. Lady was relieved to hear a voice of hope that saved her an eternal torture.

The demons looked above them on the top of the gorge to see a brown haired man in a gray suit with a red tie. The man looked to be nineteen despite his deeply set brown eyes and Japanese descent. The teen leaped down into pit and the leading demon said to him, "Casius, you don't have power over us. You're just here to give our comrades a way into the human world. You are only a gatekeeper. Now get out or I'll get mad."

Casius saw the wounded Lady and approached the cage to hold on one of the bars with his right hand. A sorrowful look filled his face as he said, "You should leave. This place is not for you."

The leading demon was startled. "What are you trying to do?"

Casius snapped the fingers of his left hand and six powerful geysers of fire engulfed the demons, charring them until they turned into white, statues of ash.

Casius opened the cage and took her out of it, holding her like a bride. Albeit, a bloody one now that her white jacket was stained completely red.

Lady was dumbfounded and touched by this mysterious man. Who wouldn't in this grave place? For in the midst of this darkness, he reached out and saved her from her captors.

Lady said through the pain, "W-wh-why?"

Casius leaped out of the gorge, carrying her with him. It was only when they begun walking through the charred earth did he reply, "A woman, is still a _woman_. I will take care of you till we get you home safely."

Lady replied in haste, "I can do that myself. You can leave me now."

Casius continued walking and replied, "I can't do that. It would be a pain to rescue you a second time. What do you think you can do with a weapon that can't hurt them?"

Lady shut her mouth and swallowed her pride. He may have some pride, but he was also right.

Casius kept walking until they reached the entrance that Lady came from. The teen saw the back of the door she came from and said, "Were here. Please get yourself medical attention urgently and never come again."

Lady got off his arms and limped to the door. She had lost her guns and her backpack was ruined. Only the knife in her boot and earpiece was left unharmed. She wasn't in the best shape but she found the doorknob. She sighed and then said without looking, "Listen. I'm sorry about earlier. Thank You. Thank you very much. I really mean it. If it weren't fo-" she turned to face him but saw that he wasn't there.

Lady then heard a buzzing sound from her earpiece, followed by the voice of Linda. "Hello, Lady? Are you still there?"

Lady replied, "Yeah. I-I'll be out. Can you open the door for me?"

Linda opened the door, allowing Lady to literally, fall into the normal world. Linda reflexively caught Lady and then set her down by the line of boxes behind the blonde. Linda then shut the door as the runes and talismans disappeared from its surface. However, the door somehow swung open to reveal the plain old janitor's closet. Seeing that the gate was sealed, Linda quickly turned around and knelt down to Lady's level and said, "I'm really sorry this happened. Just stay there. I'll heal you."

The blonde undid her low ponytail and carefully pulled out a yellow feather from it for her to use. She waved it back and forth in front of Lady, allowing a yellow dust to flow over her and heal her wounds. Every wound that Lady had received in that dark place regenerated as if nothing had happened. The devil huntress sighed and said, "And you hid this from me?"

Linda replied, "My feathers can only heal you in this world. Even if you brought it with you, it would be useless. That world is a place best left alone."

Lady shook nervously. She put her right hand over her right eye and said, "Yeah. I can completely understand."

Linda sighed, knowing that the worst was over. But she was still curious about something. "Hey Lady, what happened to you? Why did the gate suddenly shut on its own?"

Lady was still shaky but she replied, "I have no clue. When I went down there, I was badly beaten by those demons. I never knew how strong they were in their own territory. But just when I was about to lose my freedom, a young man came and saved me. They called him Casius. He was the one responsible for this gate and many more because he was their gatekeeper." _'But why did he save me then? Did he know that I was there to stop him if I found him? It would explain why he didn't want me there. There is too little I know about this incident and too much that needs to be done.'_

Linda scratched her head and said, "Casius…huh? I've heard the name somewhere. Any last name?" Lady shook her head making Linda say, "How about a description."

Suddenly, the phone rang from the cashier at the front of the store. Linda replied, "Hold on. I'll be right back." the blonde girl darted away towards the cashier, leaving Lady to ponder upon the mysterious teen and his part in the play, Sebastian Jenkins had directed.

The devil huntress still felt the repercussions of the world she had entered as indicated by her pale complexion and exhausted state both mentally and physically. Lady was feeling sick and wanted to think of nothing at this point but the images were still too fresh and strong in her mind. She shut her eyes for a while and thought, _'Dante, can you hear me out there? I really hate being in your shoes. It's just not me. So you better live through this one so we can laugh it all off and forget this nightmare ever happened.'_

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But in Germany, Dante was having a nightmare of his own inside the pizziera. He was still seated in one of the tables and had just finished his order of pizza and strawberry milkshake.

"Man, I'm full. This is the best pizza I've ever eaten in a long time." The silver haired man said. He looked around and saw that the same old customers were STILL IN THE PIZZERIA. None had left their seats. Rather, they ordered more and in bigger servings.

Dante noticed this and thought, _'The old Hansel and Gretel trick. And in Germany no less. Talk about your fairytale origins. If this is the case, I've got a couple of ideas what he's doing.' _Dante then left his seat and made his way into the kitchen without notice. The chefs were too busy to notice him enter and the waiters were much the same. It was a regular, traditional pizzeria kitchen with an oven that burned the sweat off the skin, and tile floors and walls. However, Dante wasn't looking for a free meal. Rather, he was looking for the source of the main ingredient. He looked around until he saw another door that some of the chefs were passing in and out of. It was black, rusted steel. He made his way to it and when he was about to enter, a large, bald German chef came up to him from behind and held him by his right shoulder with his left hand and said, "Excuse me, I think you are lost. May I escort you to a safer place?"

Dante suddenly grabbed the man's left arm and slipped behind him, holding the left wrist in place. He kept the pressure with his left hand while pulling out Ivory with his right and holding the gun behind the middle of the man's spine. The German chef got the point as Dante walked forward into the black door with the German chef as a hostage. The door swung inwards making it easy for Dante to push through and see that the room was a large refinery station complete with men in their blue overalls and full face gas masks working the large machines and pipes running across the rooms in a sort of semi-maze with some above him. In fact, at the center of the room was a twenty five meter, steel vat supported by four steel girders, filled with who knows what. But the fact that there was only one wall with twelve large windows at the top of the wall, meant that this place wasn't supposed to be kept in the light.

Dante quickly asked his hostage, "Mind if you give me a quick tour? It'll be easier for ya."

The german chef replied, "Uh, this is the place where we make the real pizzas. Business is business you know?"

Dante pulled back the hammer of his gun making the german chef comply with ease. "Actually, the regular pizza's are made back in the kitchen. Here we make the rations to supply the army of Mongolia and the underground terrorist forces in Pakistan."

Dante asked, "So what's in the darn things huh? That vat over there seems too big a soup bowl for your extensive facility."

The german chef replied, "Hybrid blood." Dante replied, "Show me the merchandise."

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Dante was led to a dirty corner past the worker's eyes where numerous groups of women, aged 17 to 25 were held in chains and stripped to their underwear. The devil hunter gripped the german's left wrist firmly when he saw that they were all seated on the floor while their hands and feet were bound by large black chains and had lost the light in their eyes. It was as if hope was a distant memory.

The devil hunter however knew better that they weren't ordinary women. He said, "I was right. You guys are sick idiots. They're all half demons." Dante then raised his gun up and made a heavy blow to the german's neck, incapacitating him. Seeing the man on the floor, the devil hunter quickly pulled out his cellphone and dialed back to Trish. When he heard her on the other line, he said as he approached the slaves, "Trish, I need you to tip Viktualienmarkt and Petersplatz St. They'd be safer in those guys hands."

He ended the call as he blasted away their chains with Ivory. Of course, gunshots meant trouble and it happened to be in the form of the gas masked workers carrying crowbars and pump action shotguns. Dante heard them coming and said to the women, "Hurry, go find cover. I'll stop them."

Just as he said that, a masked worker leaped up at him with crowbar cocked back to strike. Dante aimed his gun at his head, and fired a well-aimed shot in between the man's eyes. The worker dropped dead at his feet. Another worker came up to him from behind to make a sneak attack with his crowbar. Dante stepped back with right shoulder leading the way, and rammed the man before he was able to attack, allowing space for him to fluidly cover the arm's length distance and aim the gun at the man's forehead. However, a millisecond later, shotgun pellets suddenly flew out from the workers chest and a few hit Dante. It turns out that another worker was behind the sneaky one with shotgun at the ready and didn't hesitate to fire through his comrade.

Dante thought as he took a wobbly step back, _'These guys are playing for keeps. This doesn't look good.'_ He quickly leaped up and caught one of the pipes above him and swung himself forward as shotgun fire flew through the sky, courtesy of his adversaries below.

The freed slave girls panicked and ran for cover as shotgun fire rose to kill Dante who was leaping in mid air to change direction to his right and evade the bullets gracefully and landing on a large, twin pipeline beside ten, lined up masked workers with the nearest one to his left. It was a good thing they were in a line and didn't notice him land beside them. So Dante pulled out Ebony and aimed it at the temple of the worker's forehead and squeezed the trigger. The bullet passed through and killed all ten. The other workers however noticed him and started to move into position. Dante didn't want to bother fighting them all since INTERPOL would be arriving soon so he quickly leaped away from his position and made his way to the large vat and holstered his gun to arm himself with Rebellion. He noticed the workers behind him with shotguns and crowbars. So he dashed towards the vat and quickly sliced off the nearest support that it had. More shots were fired at him so he quickly slung his sword on his back and ran up the vat and when he was ten feet up, kicked off it and spun in mid air to see the workers below. There were a hundred and two of them, armed with shotguns, aimed at him. Dante fired away his twin guns at the crowd, killing at least 30 before he dashed in mid-air to the wall across him and landing on it with his two feet while he faced the ceiling. Before gravity took effect, he suddenly, pivoted to his left and made a wall run. But while he did, he aimed his guns at the remaining 72 and opened fire. The rapid fire took them by surprise and felled 60 of them. When he started feeling gravity take place, he kicked off the wall and teleported behind the vat and opened fire at the strained support in front of him. The support broke free and Dante saw that it was unsteady. So he walked up to it and gently nudged it with Ivory's iron sight, causing it to fall, diagonally forward, right on top of the remaining twelve workers.

A small sea of blood flushed out of the vat and flooded the room. The slave girls in hiding, screamed seeing the blood rush out and soak them from head to toe. Dante too was soaked in blood because he didn't think about what would happen if he caused the vat to fall down. However, the devil hunter paid no heed to himself and said, "You ladies alright? Sorry about that."

But before he could say anymore, a large growling sound came from inside the vat. It was peculiar and loud. Dante had an idea and said, "You must be the big cheese around here. And from the looks of it, fat too."

Hearing Dante's insults, something humongous and seemingly human crawled out of the vat. It was a twenty-three meter tall, bald and fat German clothed in a blood soaked rag. He wasn't something you'd want to face all by yourself. More so, in a room with bystanders. Dante saw the giant man stand up straight with a menacing look in its eyes. the man suddenly bellowed, "Dante Sparda!!!! You killed my MENNN!!!!!!"

Dante replied as he dusted himself off, "Dude, you only found that out now? But I don't blame you. An earful of blood will make anyone deaf."

The giant german looked around and said, "Where are you Sparda?! Where are my slaves?! "

From a safe distance, Dante clapped his hands twice and said "Down here. Bet you can't see your toes."

The man bent over to look only to fall over on his stomach. At least he wasn't bright for his size. Dante quickly teleported in front of the man's face and pulled out his guns and fired a blaze of bullets at the man's eyes. He holstered his guns and then pulled out his sword and said, "Time for some aerobics and I'll be your instructor. Pay attention…" He suddenly leaped up on top of the German's back and said, "You won't wanna miss a beat." Time suddenly froze, as the world around Dante became black and white. The Demon hunter then stabbed his sword into the giant's spine and lifted his left arm into the air allowing a clone of him to suddenly appear and fall down on the giant's butt. The clone stabbed the sword down and begun to spin while holding the sword in a downward 45 degree angle. Dante followed the movements and both him and his clone danced around the giant's back in that manner for a few seconds, sending blood, skin and more blood to spout out. The clone then disappeared and Dante quickly leaped off and stabbed his blade under the fat man's belly like a lever and quickly jumped on the hilt, sending the fat man up in the air as time returned to normal. Dante kicked off the sword from the ground and caught it in his right hand as he raised both his sword up in his right and Ebony in his left. A clone then appeared below the falling giant's belly and gave a aerial, million stab combination plus gunfire while spinning in midair. As the giant fell, and felt the blows eat away at his body, The original Dante fired Ebony at the man's neck and when the giant was about to hit the ground where Dante stood, Dante quickly sidestepped away from the massive shadow to where the neck of the giant would be and quickly twirled the sword vertically so it looked like a fan and tossed it up in the air, causing it to slice of the man's neck, letting the head fall off in another direction as body parts and blood rained down from the initial attacks Dante made. The devil hunter holstered his gun and said, "And the weather forecast for today is partly bloody. So if you don't wanna get hurt kids, stay away from the …" Dante's clone grabbed the sword with his left hand before it hit the ground and landed just behind the original, back facing him. The clone holstered the blade on the original's back without looking as the original said, "Rain of Rebellion". The clone disappeared and all was quiet as the blood soaked floor was now even bloodier with body parts here and there. But despite this, the enslaved women came out and saw their not so mysterious, silver haired savior. The quickly ran to him saying, "Kyaaa! Dante-sama!"

"You saved us! You're my hero!" shouted one as they crowed him.

"Dante-sama, take me now! I'm yours forever!" another shouted in glee.

"No! Take me! Marry me!" shouted another young girl.

Dante had no idea what to do in this scenario. Sure he was handsome and charming. But this wasn't something he was too used to up close. The silver haired demon hunter smiled and said, "Ladies! There's enough of me to go around. I've got all day and no curfew."

But as he said that, he heard sirens suddenly close in on the building and sounds of angry German policemen just outside the door, no doubt arresting the chefs and waiters. The devil hunter said to the crowd of women, "Or so I thought. Take care of yourselves. I'm just a phone call away." He then ran to the only wall with windows and ran up it and launched himself out the window before jumping up and making a backflip onto the rooftop of the building. He sighed and said, "Just another day at the office. At least I didn't get shot."

Dante's chest suddenly popped open and blood sprayed from the gaping wound caused by a bullet he never heard nor foresaw. He stumbled back towards the edge of the roof and promptly fell off and hit the ground, causing the people around him to leap in fright and scream as they saw his bleeding body and closed eyes. One man went over and knelt beside him and felt his wrist and went wide-eyed with surprise. He shouted to the crowd around him, "Call an ambulance! He's still alive!" the man then put a hand to Dante's neck and said, "It's going to be alright. You will make it out of here."

Dante wasn't deaf and heard the man. Instead of paying it any attention, he was remembering how on earth he got shot because he managed to glimpse the bullet's trajectory before it hit him and saw that it came from a small figure from the tallest tower in the Deutsches Museum, about eight hundred sixty yards away.

'_M40A3….with a suppressor.'_ Dante thought. _'This isn't an ordinary bullet though. I can't even move let alone open my eyes. Whoever hit me knows I'm not human and I'm betting it's one of Sebastian Jenkin's assassins.'_

An ambulance came in shortly and the medics carried him off on a stretcher and into the ambulance. The local authorities however swamped the scene Dante left behind and began their investigation into "the bloodiest form of hell they've never wanted to see". The building itself was declared quarantine due to the mess that was left behind as reporters began to make their way to the scene of the massacre while several INTERPOL agents began to escort the slaves from the pizziera and into their vans as conspicuously as possible. This of course didn't stop the paparazzi from taking pictures and videoing the affair. One male reporter took out his phone and called a friend. He said over it, "Miharu, you're not gonna believe this. That silver haired dude you were talking about was just here."

Whatever awaited Dante's fate wasn't pretty.

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Away from the battlefield, things were much slower paced back in the empty part of the forest, on the outskirts of Mahora campus.

Everything was nice and easy.

"Nice and easy." Said Hakase as she viewed the worldwide hologram on the floor. The three gates that were blinking red a while ago were now blue, making her sigh as she said, "Dante and his friends are pretty good. They've stopped three gates before allowing it to spread its influence upon the face of their respective countries."

Evangeline was still there watching the digital map with a slight look of amusement on her face. She said, "Yes. They have. Normally, an invasion is almost suicidal to stop during the entrance stage itself. That man has always had the best and worst of luck compared to his father the Dark Knight."

Hakase replied, "From what I've gathered based on the signal patterns the recently opened gates have emitted, it seems that these gates are being opened from an inside source within the gates. None of the numbers are showing violent or forceful entry from our side of the dimension."

Evangeline replied, "It would be foolish of them to try to open the gates from the outside. It's like a child choking the water with his fists. You cannot unmake something not made with human hands." She then walked away from the field allowing Hakase to further study it alone.

Evangeline made her way passed the hologram and into a huge set of square tents that was Team Dante's home base. She entered the largest tent to see that everything was arranged properly. There were collapsible bookcases with several books to her right, the remaining coolers filled with medical blood were inside another room in the tents to her nearest left. In the center of the room was a large, knee-height, round table with several stools around it. Collapsible cooking ware was in the room to the furthest left past the table area along with food to cook and a mini refrigerator. There was also a mini laboratory passed the table on the right, corner side of Evangeline's view and a room next to it with the sign, _operation_ on top to indicate the operating room and medical center. But at the back of the tent were the second largest room where they would sleep and rest after a day's work. The place was a small base alright.

But right now, Evangeline saw that the atmosphere was too lax. Tsukune was sitting by the table beside Moka chatting away. Mizore was lying down on the cloth flooring with icebags all over her body. Kurumu was busy setting up a TV on the left most corner of the room, past the table area. And it wasn't helping that Yukari, Ruby and Kokoa were _trying_ to help out.

The Maga Nosferatu, marched her way to the table and said, "You guys are enjoying your time here too much. Right now is the time to be planning and thinking up strategies and methods to defeat the main villain before he gains a leverage we cannot defeat."

Kokoa faced her and said as she pouted, "Ehh? That's boring and I'm tired. We just put this up."

Moka replied, "But Evangeline-san, we don't know where to start. We don't even know who's doing this."

Evangeline sat across Tsukune and Moka who were more eager to hear her words.

"Fine. Have it your way." The alpha vampire replied. "There are Hell Gates leading to another dimension full of heartless demons. But they cannot enter into this world without those gates as long as they are closed. So someone is opening them for a reason we still are speculating. That person is Sebastian Jenkins. The former student of Arkham."

Tsukune replied, "Isn't he that guy that's aiding Mongolia right now?"

Evangeline replied, "Yes. He's aiding Mongolia and Romania for the past few months. He has just made plans to build a company called ENSIS that fuses magic and technology for the sake of the world."

Tsukune asked her, "How sure are you that he's behind this?"

Evangeline replied, "He was a student of Arkham. A madman who did a similar task in Europe. The teachings of the master still follow through in the student. And with the political power he's gaining, he could pull of what his master did, many times over."

Moka was a bit downcast hearing the story. "Evangeline-san, why is he doing this? What reason did he go through all this trouble?"

Evangeline replied, "We don't know for sure. Arkham did it to gain the power of Sparda locked away in the other dimension. Sebastian left Arkham before the man went insane in his thirst for power so it could be any number of reasons from the wish to finish his master's work to the demise of the entire world. Which leads us to where we are right now. You will need power in order to defeat him and his empire."

The two listened carefully as Evangeline said, "Moka, as a pure vampire, you have a naturally strong amount of youki and magical energy. However, you've never made an effort to harness that strength, in fear of your own power."

Moka was a bit shocked. She was right. She was afraid of the power that lurked behind the rosario she kept around her neck.

Evangeline then said, "As for you Tsukune, you will need power in order to protect yourself from hurting your friends and losing your humanity. But because of these past events, you will also need that power to protect everyone you can. Do you see the weight on your shoulders?"

Tsukune replied, "But I'm only a high school student."

Evangeline replied, "You have to choose Tsukune. Either the blade or your friends. There is no other choice." But Moka intervened and said, "No, Tsukune has a choice. He doesn't need to choose the choices you give him."

Tsukune suddenly said, "Evangeline, I don't know what made you think that I only have those choices, but I'm sure I can protect my friends. I'll be able to do what I can."

Evangeline pouted and said, "Is what _you _can do now, able to protect them against _men_ like Miyabi?"

Tsukune froze when he heard her words. In fact, everyone else paused in a second of silence.

Evangeline said to him, "Miyabi is only the beginning. There are people like him across this world who abuse people with what _they _can do now. What you could do then wasn't enough. So what makes _you_ thinkyou have a chance the way _you_ are now?"

Moka quickly replied, "Tsukune isn't weak! I'm sure that when the time calls for him, he'll be able to protect everyone."

Evangeline replied, "Time called for him when Mizore was kidnapped." There was an awkward silence until the alpha vampire said, "Time called each and every one of you to save her but only Dante answered the call. If Dante hadn't gone ahead, Mizore would be raped. With what he could do, he saved Mizore and stopped Miyabi. He's not as heroic as any of you, but even he knows that bravery is not blind faith."

Tsukune frowned heavily and pondered on what she said. It was a lot heavier than he thought. _'Evangeline-san is right. I couldn't protect Mizore-san with the power I have now. All I could do was watch as that monster took her away and hurt her as well. If I don't have the power to protect her and my friends now then…' _He saw Moka and envisioned her smiles for a moment. _'I don't have a choice if I want to protect them.'_

Tsukune got up and said, "Evangeline-san, I understand what you're saying. I have to become stronger to protect people even if it means losing my humanity."

Evangeline smiled in triumph and said, "Yes. That is the point."

Suddenly the TV that Kurumu was fixing started working properly and was showing CNN.

"Yahoo! It works. I'm the greatest, right?" Kurumu said with a little pride.

Yukari crossed her arms and said, "It would've been fixed faster if you could see the problem."

Kurumu replied, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yukari replied, "If your boobs weren't in the way, you could see what you were working on."

"What was that you flat-chested loli?!" Kurumu started getting into a cheek-pinching battle with Yukari, lightening the mood greatly. Everyone started feeling much better seeing their banter. After all, something as grim as the end of the world made any form of entertainment captivating.

Ruby intervened their little mishap and said, "Now now, let's save it for the enemy."

Kokoa suddenly replied, "If there will be any coming. I don't even think they'll try to fight again after seeing their first plan fail."

But as soon as Kokoa said that, CNN suddenly had a live broadcast, making the Yokai Academy students plus Evangeline pay attention.

The news anchorman on TV began his broadcast. "In other news around the world, Germany was 'under siege this afternoon by another terrorist attack. We have Linda Mercy with us live on scene…" the screen shifted to Linda Mercy holding a microphone while wearing paparazzi gear. The news anchorman requested, "Linda, could you inform the viewers what just happened?" Linda answered, "At the corner of Petersplatz St., Bernis Pizzeria became 'A Crimson Sea' in under two hours, according to local authorities. Chaos took place in the supply room of the pizzeria, indicated by the signs of multiple gunshots as well as several corpses that amassed well under a hundred."

The screen started to show the bloody area and several German officers as well as forensics team. Linda continued her report as this happened. "At first glance, it looked like a massive gang fight had taken place. But INTERPOL spokesman Karl Brunsvik stated that it was the largest human trafficking operation since the War on Iraq. Mr. Brunsvik and his associates arrived on scene earlier and escorted at least thirty-five women from the ages of 17 to 25 to the American Embassy, leaving their forensics team to immediately begin investigation." The screen then showed a brown haired German in a yellow jumpsuit with his helmet off. The man said, "We're at a loss here. The place is just covered with blood everywhere we don't even know where to begin. Right now we're waiting for the cleanup and salvage team to help out in the investigation but until then, we're responsible for cleaning this mess..." The screen briefly showed Linda Mercy again allowing her to say, "Although there are no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting, nearby bystanders have found a man who fell off the roof the building with a gunshot wound in his chest." The screen then showed an artist sketch of Dante, petrifying the group from Yokai Academy. Linda Mercy continued, "His relation with the incident is still unconfirmed but he is being held under house arrest as an important suspect by local authorities. This is Linda Mercy live from Germany."

Blip.

Kokoa turned off the TV.

Evangeline grunted and said, "That idiot."

Kurumu said with hesitation, "H-He didn't really do that right?"

Mizore suddenly stood up and said, "It wouldn't be too far off for him."

The rest of the Yokai-gumi sweatdropped knowing that was true.

Yukari stood up and said in panic, "This is bad desu. If they link this incident with Dante-san, they wouldn't let him out for any reason they don't believe in."

Tsukune asked, "What do you mean Yukari-chan?"

Yukari replied, "Dante-san left for Germany to destroy the opened Hell Gate. But because it came from inside a building, no one else saw what happened and can attest to him. If it comes out that he is the culprit behind it, he'll be locked up and executed."

Moka replied, "That's right. Not many people will believe that he was saving lives from demons he was killing."

Yukari asked Moka, "What should we do Moka-san?"

Evangeline replied, "It's already obvious. We have to save him."

"Ehhhh?!" was the unison reply of the Yokai-gumi.

Tsukune asked the alpha vampire, "But how will we do that?"

Evangeline replied, "Dante's cargo plane should be arriving soon. From there you can take it to Germany and rescue him. I'll leave the planning up to you." She left the tent, causing Kurumu to rant out in dismay, "Where the heck are you going?! What's up with that old hag? I don't get her at all."

Tsukune put his arms up to calm them down. "Calm down Kurumu-chan. Nothing will be done by standing here and panicking."

Kurumu replied, "That's true. But how are we going to save him? He's being held by the police who are all humans."

Mizore replied, "Then we sneak him out. Even though their security is tight, it is still run by humans. Us Yokai can easily bypass them and get to him."

Kurumu smirked and said, "So you've got a plan? Great. Let's hear it."

"……………….."

Mizore faced Tsukune. "What's your plan Tsukune?"

They fell over comically hearing her words. They were really stumped at this point. Not surprising considering the suddenness of the scenario laid out to them. But at least they were concerned for him. Not many would care about the silver haired slayer nor hatch a plan to rescue him. The Yokai-gumi had hearts of gold and with time, they could be tempered to perfection. But time waits for no one and they couldn't let Dante be sentenced to prison.

After the stunning moment, Tsukune said to them, "We should pack for the trip first. We might stay there for a while and while we're at it, we should find out exactly where Dante-san is being held. From there we'll make a plan to get him and ourselves out safely."

The Yokai-gumi nodded and they went out of the tent to see Hakase still monitoring the hologram. Kokoa asked the mad genius, "You're still there?! Don't you ever get tired of staring at that thing?"

Hakase answered without looking, "It isn't that bad when you consider how much you can learn by looking at this." She faced them and said,  
Evangeline told me everything that happened. Dante sure gets into a lot of trouble."

Ruby asked her, "Where is Evangeline-san?"

Hakase replied, "She's resting at her cottage." Kurumu crossed her arms and said, "Che. We can do better without her anyway." Hakase sent the computer on sleep mode and faced them properly this time. There was something they needed to know before they could judge. "Evangeline may act that way because of her pride as a vampire, but she really is concerned about Dante. She was the one who helped raised him."

They were dumbfounded when they heard Hakase's words. The mad genius seemed to have gone madder. Hakase had a solemn look on her face as she said, "Many years ago, she followed and helped Sparda during the world's darkest ages. It may sound impossible, but that is the truth. From the moment Sparda entered this world from Hell, to the day of his passing, Evangeline was there with him and became his most trustworthy friend. And because of their close friendship, Sparda entrusted her to protect his family in his time of need and passing. Although she was reluctant at first, eventually, she kept his promise for a time until Dante came of age and she found the Thousand Master. Dante had forgotten their kinship since he was still young when she left him, but she never forgot those days she spent with him."

Her words ran deep in their hearts as they understood more about Evangeline's dark past. At the very least they knew that Evangeline had more than a soul.

Tsukune asked Hakase, "Why isn't Evangeline going to save him? What's stopping her?"

Hakase replied, "She cannot because of the curse upon her." the Yokai-gumi was once again surprised. "A few years back, the Thousand Master put a spell upon her so that she would remain in Mahora Academy as a student for the rest of her life. It was her punishment for all the evil things she has done."

The Yokai-gumi all thought, _'That's a hell on its own!'_

Mizore suddenly asked, "How long has she been here?"

Hakase replied, "I don't know for sure but she has repeated graduation for two years at the very least. She's never gotten close to people because of the curse until recently. No doubt, its because of Negi-sensei, the son of the Thousand Master."

"Eh?!" Yukari exclaimed. "The Thousand Master had a son?! But he died several years ago."

Hakase replied, "According to the Thousand Master's long time friend, he's still alive. And the fact that Negi-sensei met him once made it much clearer. Evangeline is hoping that he's still alive. But until then, she can only watch as the world passes her by from this place."

Kurumu asked Hakase, "Where' Dante's cargo ship?"

Hakase replied, "It's down by the port on Mahora Campus. Just follow the path to the bridge and make a left."

Kurumu turned on her heel and ran ahead with Mizore tailing her.

Kokoa suddenly shouted out, "What's this all of a sudden? Where are you going?"

Yukari took off after them with Tsukune, Moka, Kokoa and Ruby following behind. But further ahead, Kurumu lead the pack towards the bridge, past any onlooking student and bystanders alike with utmost ease. Mizore suddenly caught up to Kurumu and asked her, "What are trying to do by rushing there?"

Kurumu retorted, "Same goes for you Mizore. I'm doing this because that chibi-vampire can't do it. She wants to see Dante again after being stuck here for God knows how long. He's her only real family and all she has left."

Mizore replied, "For once we actually agree."

Kurumu smirked as they neared the port, "What's this? You're not going soft on me Mizore-chan?"

The yuki onna replied, "Don't be mistaken. I only wish to repay my debt to him. He saved my life and virginity. This is all I can do for him in return."

Soon they Yokai-gumi reached the port where the cargo plane was docked a few minutes ago. The plane had its rear entrance open and there was a black and white Nissan Crew parked outside it. Not only that, but two pilots with old, Vietnam war uniforms stood outside it. One had swept back brown hair and a rough beard while the other had unkempt, short blonde hair and a chiseled face with a small scar on his right eyebrow.

When the two pilots spotted them, the blonde one whistled and said, "It's my lucky day! We've got ladies coming from everywhere."

The brown haired one said as the Yokai-gumi approached, "John, you have a wife. Do you really want trouble?"

When the Yokai-gumi stood in front of the plane, Tsukune exclaimed, "Amazing! I've only seen planes like this in history books."

John Tobais replied, "It's a classic, kid. C-2 Greyhound run by me, John Tobias and my friend here, Tony Thompkins."

Suddenly they heard a voice shout out from inside the plane. "Shit! Wha kinda mofo left the fucking RPG lyin here? Which one of u assholes shanked da crate?"

John and Tony sweatdropped hearing JD Leongale, AKA Lowe, curse like a….well…you get the point.

Tony said to the shell-shocked Yokai-gumi, "That's our resident Medic, JD Leongale or Lowe. Don't mind him. He's always like that."

Moka hesitantly replied, "I-I see."

John felt that they were needed by this band of teenagers and asked, "So what brings you lovely ladies here? A date maybe?"

The Yokai-gumi sweatdropped and Moka replied, "Our friend Dante-san has been arrested on false charges and we need to rescue him. Will you help us?"

Tony replied, "I see. Then we better get moving."

Everyone boarded the plane and the two pilots hopped to the cockpit to fire up the engines.

The Yokai-gumi entered the main hull as the rear entrance shut tight. There was no turning back now. Especially since the engines could be heard, rearing to go.

Lowe said to the Yokai-gumi, "Alright, take a seat. This ain't no bus trip."

Yukari exclaimed as she sat on the bunk bed, "Yay! My first airplane ride!"

Kokoa replied as she sat next to her, "Finally! We get to do something awesome."

They settled down in the bunk beds and some of the chairs as the plane smoothly took off towards the horizon.

But at Mahora Academy port, Trish, Night, Riiko and Amu were walking back to the Nissan Crew that the plane left behind.

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Riiko sighed in relief as she said, "That was really scary…" she was still exhausted from facing demons in such huge numbers. "Now I understand how the characters of Resident Evil feel." _'I'll get a heart attack if this keeps up.'_

Night however showed no signs of exhaustion. He was stronger than an ox. Literally. With concern for Riiko, he replied, "It's alright Riiko. We lived through it right? So there's nothing else to fear now that we've faced it."

Trish added, "Riiko, you did well today. You can go home for now. Make sure that Night is kept safe."

When they got to the Nissan Crew, Riiko faced Trish with a smile and said, "I think that Night will be the one protecting me and not the other way around."

Amu suddenly asked them, "Um, that's nice to hear but, what are you gonna do with that?" she pointed at the leftover weapons in the car. There were still grenades, some C-4, the Javelin with at least five more shots, the FAMAS with ten clips, two Desert Eagles with five clips each, the AA12 with five straight clips, an Operator with two clips, and a Buckmark with integral suppressor and twenty clips.

Night suddenly had an idea and said, "Let's sell them. We can easily pay for your debt, Riiko."

Trish chuckled. "I doubt that the commission will be anywhere near $5000. Arms dealers sell more than that amount."

Night was curious of her words and asked, "Trish, I've been meaning to ask you, how did you get all this? From the car to the weapons and even the airplane we rode in. I'm sure that ALL of that costs more than a ¥100,000,000."

Riiko quickly got his point and frowned at Trish. "Wait a minute. You can easily pay for my debt as well as Amu's debt if that's true."

Trish camly replied, "So you want me to sell to other people a means of death in exchange for your debts."

Question marks appeared all over the Riiko, Night and Amu's head. Trish sighed when she saw their confused faces. "Riiko, guns and explosives are a tool of death. And a very effective one too. I can do that and make a profit out of it but it will be in exchange for a life every gun takes. Human life is priceless compared to a few pieces of metal and dust."

Riiko was struck by her words. _'She's right…I completely forgot how dangerous a gun is.'_ Her hands started to shake when she remembered all the demons she killed with the AA12 and the Uzi. _'It was so frightening to fight but I felt relief that I wasn't getting killed by killing the demons after us. Even though they were not humans, they felt the pain of the bullets passing through them. I killed so many demons with just one gun. How much more if it was used to kill humans?'_

Amu didn't fully understand what was going on. But when she saw the look on Riiko's face, she understood what happened. She said to Riiko, "Riiko-san, I don't get what's going on but if you can't pay off the debt like that, then it means you just need to find other ways to do it without taking other people's lives."

Night put a hand on Riiko's shoulder and said, "Let's go home Riiko. We have plenty of time to find that money."

Riiko nodded. At the very least, rest kept them at ease despite their predicament.

Trish crossed her arms and said, "I'll see what we can do about your debts. But for now, get a part-time job. It won't pay much but at least you'll be able to pay however much you can while waiting."

Night smiled and said, "Maybe you can find us another bank to rob. One not filled with demons if it's okay."

Trish laughed and said, "Sure. Knock yourself out."

With that, Riiko, Night, and Amu sat in the Nissan Crew and drove away from Mahora Campus and back into the city.

"Amu, where's your house?" Riiko asked, as she passed Mahora Bridge.

Amu looked around the windows of the car and said, "I don't recognize anything…" her Shugo Charas were worried as well and Ran said, "Maybe if I go outside, I can find it and lead us there." Miki protested however and said, "But where will you start looking? We'll get even more lost that way."

Night placed his hands behind his head and said, "We drove too far from home. Maybe if we retrace our steps…"

Amu sweatdropped and thought, _'But that would lead us back to the scene of the crime.'_

Riiko opened the glove compartment and took out a map of the area they were in. She took a quick peek at it and said, "Ah, I found it. I'll get us there no problem."

Riiko took a right turn and drove through traffic towards her destination. It was 2:49 pm but they haven't had a proper meal since this morning. Naturally, this made them stop at a nearby burger shop named, Wham!-Burger. It was a pretty small one-story building with modest parking spaces.

Riiko parked the car near a blue SilEighty. The car looked customized but it wasn't something to mind. Their stomachs were more important.

Riiko and Night entered the restaurant but Amu lagged behind to pull back a dazed Miki, so entranced by the SilEighty.

"What are you doing?" asked Amu as she tried to pull away her Shugo Chara.

Miki was blushing and dazed as she gazed at the SilEighty and flew to it with all her might. "That artistic navy blue, the way it shines with the shape of the car, I'm in heaven!"

Ran helped out Amu in by pushing Miki in the opposite direction. "You said that a few seconds ago! Let's go inside already."

Su pitched in from an observing point of view. "Miki can't help it when she sees something she likes."

Amu replied as she pulled on Miki, "But it gets more inconvenient everyday!"

Amu eventually pulled Miki out and fell back to bump into two lovely, twenty-something ladies. One had dark brown hair and a beautiful but unfazed face while the other had lighter brown hair. The one with brighter colored hair replied, "Hey, are you okay? What were you trying to do?"

Amu got up and quickly scratched her head in apology before going inside the burger shop. The two ladies were clueless of what just occurred but they put it aside and hopped into the SilEighty.

The darker haired girl said as she started the car and rolled down her window, "I heard a rumor that a customized Nissan Crew was the getaway car for the robbery earlier."

The lighter haired girl replied, "Eh? They used one to rob a bank? How did it manage to get away?"

The car slowly creped up onto the highway and the darker haired girl replied, "My source told me that the car drove alongside the other taxis passing by. He also said that the driver was a girl with strawberry blonde hair. There was even a rumor that an hour after, the same car was driving in the Hong Kong harbor."

The SilEighty drove off into the highway as a nosy reporter named Miharu, stopped her recorder and smiled greedily. The story she had acquired had taken shape in another direction.

The brown haired woman still had her hair tied up in a high ponytail and she was still wearing her paparazzi gear. She was geared to squeal to the world. Now if only her story could make enough sense for said world to hear with open minds and open hearts.

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Wham!-Burger was filled with customers despite it being mid-afternoon. Many who sat down within the restaurant were high school students just out of school or those playing hookey like Amu, Riiko and Night.

The three were sitting by the side window eating their orders—a caramel sundae, apple pie, some French fries and two hamburgers. They pitched in what they could from the generosity of their wallets to get the meals and surprisingly they still had extra.

Riiko had just finished one of the burgers and said, "Hey Night, is it really okay to take it?" she pointed at a stack of three, letter-sized brown envelopes that were almost ready to burst.

Night noticed what she was pointing at and said, "Well, it was meant for us. And the letter said we should accept it anyway."

Amu was holding on to said letter that apparently came along with the envelopes. The pink haired girl said to them, "It would be rude to reject it. It was her way of saying thank you for our hard work."

Riiko frowned comically despite the fact she was serious. "Still…It's embarrassing to receive such HUGE amounts." _'Twenty thousand yen is no joke. They're not even counterfeits as well.'_

Riiko suddenly smiled and replied, "This is great. If we keep earning money like this, we'll pay everything off in no time!"

Amu took her envelope and thought of what she could do with the money. She thought about a lifetime supply of ice cream and a trip to Hawaii. At the same time, she thought of buying a wedding dress and Tadase as the groom. At that point, her face bore the color of a tomato and she shook her head furiously to waver the embarrassment she felt. Of course, her Shugo Charas saw her expression and had ideas what she was thinking. This made her mumble in a low growl of annoyance that Night captured with ease.

But before he could comment, Riiko beat him to the punch. "Hey Amu, I've been wondering, you keep looking out into space like that and talking to yourself. Are you okay?" _'Actually, it's pretty creepy.'_

Amu hesitated for a second and waved her hand dismissively. "A-ahhhhh, it's nothing. I'm just thinking about what's happening back home."

Riiko dawned a sad smile of understanding. "I see." _'She wouldn't be here if nothing had happened to her. But even children weren't spared from this catastrophe. It really is sad after all to bear a weight you weren't prepared for.' _Riiko suddenly pushed her envelope to Amu in a very apologetic way. This act of impulse caught Amu by surprise. The pink haired girl replied, "What are you doing?"

Riiko replied, "Amu, you should take this envelope. Don't worry your parents anymore."

Amu was speechless at first. But then she pushed the envelope back and crossed her arms. "You need to pay off your debt as well right? Then don't offer me help if you can't even help yourself. You'll end up pulling both of us down."

Riiko was surprised by Amu's pride yet selflessness. She was a young girl yet she made sense in her own way. The teenager of the two smiled and said, "Amu-chan, thank you. I'll accept your gift to me. But it's all right to ask help when you need it. You don't have to bury yourself in this mess. We're all in this together so we'll get out together."

Amu blushed a bit. But she eventually nodded. She didn't completely understand why Riiko was so kind, but she knew that the teen was pure of heart and strong of will. She was so much like Tadase despite the lackluster that this female counterpart had. Amu felt so much at ease with Riiko and Night could clearly see it.

Night intervened and said, "Amu-chan, is there a guy you like?"

Amu suddenly went into panic. "A-ah!!!! It's nothing like that. There's nothing like that at all."

Riiko snickered mischievously, making Amu frown. "What are you looking at?" Amu said with a drip of irritation.

Riiko suddenly sat beside Amu and placed her right arm over Amu's shoulder. The teenager said with a mischievous expression, "It's okay, it's okay. Have you told him your feelings yet?"

Night suddenly complained, "Riiko, it's not nice to do that. You're gonna scare her."

Riiko paid him no heed and continued, "Well? Have you?"

Amu was a little nervous and said, "It's none of your business."

Riiko 'patted' her on the back and said, "Well that's alright. But you should tell him soon. If not now, then when? He might change his mind while you wait for him."

Amu was now uncomfortable and pleaded to Riiko, "Re-really? He might change his mind? Why?"

Suddenly, the two girls were in their own world leaving Night to himself. _'I've been forgotten…'_

Night sighed and looked at the envelopes on the table. They each were given twenty thousand yen. If every job they do pays this much, they could pay their debt in full in less than a month. That is, IF they do the jobs Trish hands them.

Night took his and Amu's share and tucked them in his pockets. He thought about the letter that came with the pay and was deeply serious about this turn of events. _'Although Riiko and Amu's debt will lessen for every job, it also means that Trish will put their lives at risk every time. I don't want that to happen. But I can't run away with them because I am also being hunted down by whoever is trying to destroy the world. Will I be able to protect them all by myself with all of this?'_

"Night…" Riiko said, snapping him to attention. "Night, we've decided to become the best soldiers we can be."

"Eh?" replied the confused android. Riiko dawned a serious face once more and clarified her earlier statement. "It's going to be hard if we put ourselves in danger and worry everyone else. So for everyone's sake, we're going to be strong enough to protect them and ourselves. My plan is to find somewhere to train while we're not being hired by Trish. We can practice marksmanship, CQC, reconnaissance, stealth, stamina training and mechanics."

Night was shocked. "Riiko, what's gotten into you?"

Riiko pulled out from her pocket, a small manual entitled, _**Orphans to Soldiers **__by Mana Tatsumiya_. It was quite thin but the spine had been broken over and over showing that it was used and read cover to cover. Riiko showed him the manual and said, "While we were there at Mahora Campus, I found this manual. It's a training manual with the author's personal experiences as a mercenary fighting impossible odds. I was thinking, we can use this as a basis so that we can survive any encounter thrown at us. We need a lot more skills than we do now in order to survive the battles that come our way."

Night questioned her methods. "But Riiko, that won't work. There's too much to do and very little time."

Riiko replied, "No. It will work. We were able to get this far by using guns, explosives and other things that the army has used for years. We can do it Night."

Amu pitched in and said, "It's our only hope at defeating the person responsible for all of this. Even if it's just a little, it's better than waiting to get killed by those things."

Riiko added, "Sooner or later, we will have to fight, Night. No one else should get hurt and we can make sure that it stays that way."

Night replied, "Alright Riiko. If that's what you want."

Riiko was about to smile until Night said, "It will take some money to rent a place. And we'll need more bullets than we have today." Riiko sweatdropped knowing he was right. Night continued, "And we still have school and Gaku will be looking for us while we're gone. Gaku won't be that hard to handle…" Riiko finished, "But the ammunition will be hard to find. That's not a problem Night. Every Nation has at least one hidden ammunition silo in each province just in case of an armed invasion. Most of the ammunition in the silos are .45mm, .50mm, 12 Gauge, .22LR, 5.56x45mm NATO, 7.62x38mmR. All of which are matching rounds to the guns we have."

Night asked her, "Where did you find that out?" Riiko replied, "It's in the manual. See? I can do this." Night rubbed his head allowing Riiko to continue. "The nearest one is just thirty minutes away from school. After we drop off Amu-chan from her school, we can head straight to the silo and start target practice."

Night replied, "Amu, do you want to come?"

Amu shook her head and said, "I've had enough for today. I'll go home."

Riiko and Night understood her feelings and nodded. They exited the restaurant and jumped into the Nissan Crew and drove off. Riiko parked the car just outside Amu's house. Amu walked out of the car, allowing it to drive off in the distance and out of sight.

Amu sighed knowing she was finished for the day…at least with them. She didn't walk straight into her house. Instead she walked across the street, making her Shugo Charas wonder what she was doing this time. Ran asked her, "Where are you going Amu-chan?"

Amu replied, "To make Desolator-san stronger." _'I remember now. There was that weird shop near the ice cream parlor. I always wondered what that shop was for but now it makes sense. It's a gun shop.'_

She got to the corner where a gun shop entitled Hibiki's Firearms, sat beside an ice cream parlor. She noticed many from Seiyo Academy were lined up by the parlor so she quickly slipped through the crowd and quietly entered the gun store.

The store was run by an old man and had all sorts of firearms on display. There was a grinder and several other tools behind the counter where the aging old man with round glasses sat, working on a field stripped M1911. Amu marveled at all the guns in the store. It was like a toy store for gun fanatics and murderers alike. Each gun had a price tag and descriptions on it along with the ammunition type the gun was primed for.

The pink haired elementary student slowly walked to the old man's counter while Miki looked at every gun in sight.

"E-excuse me." Amu said in a soft voice.

The old man turned around and saw the young girl in his store. He was curious as to why a girl of her age is in his store. Surely it was simply curiosity since many children ate ice cream at the parlor next door. But to his surprise, Amu asked him, "Gunsmith-san, can you make my gun much stronger?"

The old man squinted his eyes for a second before replying, "Sure. It'll be done before you know it." _'She must have a pellet gun with her. It's pretty popular these days among kids.'_

But once again, he was surprised when Amu pulled out her Nagant revolver and laid it on his counter. His eyes were wide and filled with dread. He paled seeing the gun. He quickly took the weapon and carefully inspected it. "This is a Nagant M1895 Revolver." The man said. "It's primed for 7.62x38mm Type-R ammunition." He carefully cocked the gun and said, "The gun is unique because it has a "gas-seal" system in which the cylinder moves forward when the gun was cocked to close the gap between the cylinder and the barrel, providing a boost to the muzzle velocity of the fired projectile." He then aimed the gun up squeezed the trigger, allowing a clicking sound to occur, showing it was empty.

The old man with his gray, short hair, wasn't senile. He put down the gun on the counter and asked Amu, "Where did you get this?"

Amu didn't face him directly and said, "My Dad needs it fixed because I accidentally dropped it."

The old man sighed and said, "This gun can't get scratched. You'd need a tank to run over it to do any real damage to it. And from the sound the gun made when I fired it, it didn't sound damaged to me." He leaned closer to Amu and said, "What do_ you_ need this gun for?"

Amu stuttered, "U-uh…w-well…it-it's…"

The old man rubbed his head and said, "A gun is a serious weapon. Swords can kill many people with the right hands. But a gun can kill with _anyone's_ hands. Before I contemplate working on your weapon, tell me why a young girl like you needs it?"

Amu was nervous. It was definitely awkward and scary. Especially since she was the only one in the store with the old arms dealer. Su floated to Amu and whispered, "Amu-chan, you should tell him the truth. He will only work on Desolator-san if you answer him honestly."

Amu faced the old man with seriousness and said, "I need him to help me protect everyone important to me. That's why I want you to make him stronger." _'Riiko-san, I don't understand why you go so far to protect me and everyone around me, but I understand how sad it is to lose everyone and all the hope and dreams they have with them. It's a painful feeling and I don't want to feel this way over and over again.'_

The old man blankly looked at her and said, "This will take a few minutes. Can you wait that long?" Amu smiled and nodded.

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After a ten minutes of patiently waiting, the old man cleaned the Nagant revolver and said, "So you're going to save the world from the demons trying to destroy it but you still have duties as a 'Guardian'. Is that right?"

Amu nodded as he handed her the gun. It was now rifiled, extending the accuracy by a few feet and the iron sights were slightly higher than normal because the end of the gun had been engraved to have a suppressor screwed on it. That wasn't all though. The grip was replaced with a gray high polymer plastic making it lighter and easier to grip and squeeze without losing its quality. The metal was cleaned and polished not to make it shiny but to keep its function in perfect working order and life span longer. It had now looked like brand new if it weren't for the red X on the grip of the gun.

The old man opened one of the drawers in the counter and said, "I've heard of all sorts of strange stories in my lifetime but not one of them was as crazy as yours." He quickly rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a huge box of 7.62x38mmR ammo, a cleaning kit complete with tools, a manual on the Nagant revolver and a high quality suppressor. He put them in a paper bag and said, "But I believe you. I don't know why, but I can feel that you're doing the right thing even if you don't always realize it yourself. But be careful with your double life. Often, those who live double lives, end up meeting people they shouldn't in the worst of places."

He handed her the bag and said, "Normally that would be around ten thousand yen. But if you promise me you'll come back to have it checked every weekend, then I'll cut the price to five thousand."

Amu handed him the money and said, "Thank you gunsmith-san." _'With this, I can protect my friends a lot better now.'_

As Amu walked out the door, Ran said, "Amu-chan, let's do our best!"

Amu nodded and said, "Yeah. We'll stop that monster and pay our debt."

But right after she said that, she heard a familiar voice call out from her left. "Amu…chan?"

Amu turned and paled with dread as she said, "Ya-Yaya-chan?!" _'What is Yaya-chan doing here?!'_

**|04|04|04|04|04||04|04|04|04|04||04|04|04|04|04||04|04|04|04|04||04|04|04|04|04||04|04|04|**

Yup. Amu is in trouble now. She was seen exiting the gun store next to the ice cream parlor. What are the chances of that?

In any case, expect more Amu getting in trouble, Dante getting his butt rescued by Tsukune's crew, Riiko and Night moments, and Trish and Lady dealing with the insanity of it all.

Thank you for reading another chapter of this story. Ja matta.


	5. Secret Mission 05: Truth in Blood

Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

A/N: Great news people! This chapter has drama written all over it. There'll be fights, deaths, and bleeding hearts.

Barkeep: Everyone's been waiting for this. You sure you're up to this?

I've got down and out. Dante has the rest of the script so just sit back and enjoy a good read.

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 05:**_ Truth in Blood_

* * *

The auburn sky flew overhead, its mellow light a lamp in the afternoon.

A small city in Japan was nearing the day's end with children from Seiyo Academy lining up by the counter inside the ice cream parlor near **Hibiki's Firearms**. These children were exhausted from the routine grind in school and each bought a sugary treat to cool off their dry tongues and feverish minds.

One of these children asked the kind vendor for a vanilla flavored ice cream, since it matched her socks, making her all giddy. This cheerful little fifth grader was named Yaya. Her hair, as orange as the sky, was tied in two, small pigtails to the side using ribbons as red as her red-checkered skirt and muffler over her black polo and matching black shoes.

The little fifth grader's brown eyes lit up when she saw her vanilla ice cream cone handed to her over the counter, courtesy of the vendor. She quickly paid the man and politely said thanks, not caring whether the ice cream would spill on her school uniform.

"Ice cream on a hot day tastes the best!" she said to herself as she exited the counter and sat on one of the few seats in the parlor.

She licked her ice cream thinking about what the day was like without Amu. _'Amu-chan didn't come to school today. That really sucks. I wanted to show her my new ringtone of Utau-chan's new song. Did she catch a cold from Tadase's dog?'_

After eating her ice cream halfway, she said to herself, "Maybe Amu-chan is in big trouble today. It's not like her to skip work as a Guardian." Her face suddenly went bright with a smile.

She pumped her left fist and said, "Okay, we'll visit Amu-chan this afternoon!"

With her resolve clear as the day, she ate her sugary treat from the cream to the cone, licking her fingers before walking through the door. But she never expected what came next.

Now outside the ice cream parlor, Yaya felt an odd but familiar presence in an odd but eerie place. She looked towards her right to see the old gun shop that stood there long before her birth.

Yaya gazed at the foreign shop. _'I keep coming here to buy ice cream. But now that I think about it, that store was always there. Because it looks so old and boring, no one ever goes there at all. But I wonder what is inside that place that smells like metal.'_

She walked a little closer to the store, her curiosity leaving behind any doubts. But as she did, she saw the door open wide. She stopped moving, not knowing who was leaving that store until she saw that it was her pink haired friend named Amu who was exiting.

As Amu walked out the door, Ran said, "Amu-chan, let's do our best!"

Amu nodded and said, "Yeah. We'll stop that monster and pay our debt."

But right after she said that, she heard a familiar voice call out from her left. "Amu…chan?"

Amu turned and paled with dread as she said, "Ya-Yaya-chan?!" _'What is Yaya-chan doing here?!'_

Yaya suddenly appeared in front of Amu and squarely slapped her on the back. The orange haired girl smiled and said, "Amu-chan!! Where were you all day?"

Amu had veins all over her head and said, "Why do you ask?"

Yaya pouted. "Because you've been gone the WHOLE day silly." Her smile returned once again. "We thought you got sick but you look all better now."

Yaya suddenly snapped to attention when she noticed that Amu had come from the gun shop. "Hey Amu-chan, what were you doing here?"

Amu panicked and said with white saucer for eyes, "No-no-nothing at all! I got curious about what's in here so…"

Yaya replied with an awed look, "Is that so? I never thought that Amu-chan was the curious type."

Amu was in a pinch. She began to think, _'Why did Yaya-chan appear here of all places?! Ahh, I already know the answer. She always comes here after school to eat ice cream so it wouldn't be out of place to meet her here. But what should I do?! She saw me exit THAT place.'_

However, Yaya noticed the heavy, brown paper bag in Amu's arms. The giddy girl asked, "Amu-chan, what's in that bag?"

Amu backed away a little and said, "None of your business."

Yaya took a step closer and said, "Can I take a look?"

Amu took another step back and said, "No, it's nothing important."

Yaya took another step forward and replied with stars in her eyes, "Please, Please, Pleeeassee?"

Amu began sweating a little and her Shugo Charas needed to help her out.

Ran whispered to Amu, "We need to get out of here Amu-chan."

Amu faced her and replied, "I know that!"

But Amu didn't pay enough attention allowing Yaya to suddenly snatch the bag from her hands and look inside.

Amu noticed this, panicked and quickly took the bag and run off.

Yaya pointed at Amu and said, "AHH! You stole that bag! Give it back!"

The nearby police on patrol heard Yaya's cry and began tailing Amu while shouting, "Stop, thief!"

Amu shouted as she ran, "It's my bag to begin with!!!"

The pink haired girl ran for her life heading home. After a few hours, she managed to shake off her pursuers and make it back home.

Weary from running, she sluggishly walked back home in hopes of cooling off from today's events. And who wouldn't? Earlier that day, she robbed a bank and executed five hundred and one demons, found out that she was included in a worldwide witch hunt, and now Yaya took a peek in her bag filled with a gun, a suppressor, a cleaning kit, manual and bullets. This fifth grader had a lot on her shoulders.

Amu reached her house and opened the front door. Entering it, she saw that her mother was busy dealing with Ami's hungry mouth and her father's aching belly at the dining table.

Amu said to them, "Tadaima."(I'm home.)

Amu's mother faced her and said, "Ah, I'm glad your back Amu-chan. How was your day?"

Amu replied, "It…It was fine." But her voice held a tint of unease.

Hinamori, Midori, Amu's mother, replied, "What's wrong Amu-chan?"

Hinamori, Tsumugu, Amu's father, replied, "That's alright Amu-chan. We all get bad days once in a while. It's part of growing up."

Amu sat down at the table and asked, "Okaa-san, what does it mean when someone willingly gives away their life to protect others?"

Midori gave a knowing smile to her husband, signaling him to put their youngest daughter to bed. Both knew that this was going to be a long talk.

"Let's go to bed Ami-chan." Tsumugu said as he picked up Ami and walked upstairs to her bedroom.

When none of their footsteps could be heard, Midori sat beside her older daughter and said, "That's a tough question Amu-chan. Is there someone in trouble?"

Amu remembered how Dante risked his life for her and how Riiko constantly puts her life in place of hers. The pink haired girl frowned a little and said, "It's just that, in the TV shows, the hero always risks his life to protect the people from the villains. But sometimes they also risk their lives for a complete stranger and act as if it's alright even though they know it will not be alright. I just don't understand."

Midori looked at her daughter with care. "Amu-chan, isn't that love?"

"Eh?" Amu gasped.

Midori continued, "Loving someone and protecting them go hand in hand. When you love someone, you don't want them to experience the pain of this world. You want to cherish them so that the only tears they will shed will be tears of joy."

Seeing Amu's speechless face, she continued. "That's why otou-san and I work very hard so that you don't need to go through some of the things we go through. We just love you so much that we begin to love the people you love even though we don't really know them." She focused her gaze into her daughter's amber eyes and said, "Amu-chan, love is not blind. It helps us see the life in others."

* * *

Amu had gone to her room and was bathing in the shower. She drenched herself as the day's events sunk in.

As the water rinsed her frail body clean, she thought, _'Love is not blind. It helps us see the life in others… Is that why Riko-san pushes so hard? Because she cherishes the life in others?' _

She shut the faucet and begun drying herself up with her towel. _'To love someone is to want them to live. And when that person is threatened, we will do everything to keep them safe, even from ourselves. That's why Riiko-san always smiles. She hides her fear so that everyone around her feels safe and can continue their lives like they used to. She's continually sacrificing herself for the sake of others.'_

Amu began dressing in her yellow pajamas. _'Riiko-san's and Dante's resolve are much stronger than I imagined. They do what they do, not from an absence of fear, but because there are things they wish to protect. And for that reason, they push aside any hesitation.'_

She placed a hand to her heart and said, "I'm already envious of them. They have become who they are through what they protect." _'This is why Dante-san wanted me to go home. To steady my thoughts and grow wise in stillness.'_

Amu looked in the mirror to check if her hair had dried up but was surprised at what she had seen instead.

Though her hair was a little damp, her stance had more confidence and poise. Her lips in a neat smile but her eyes had sharpened into cool, knowing confidence. She began to resemble Kairi, the Jack's Chair before Nagihiko.

"Eh? Wha-?" She gasped out. "What just happened?" _'What was that feeling? It almost felt like I was a different person.'_

She quickly shook her head and returned to normal, not understanding what happened to her while she was lost in thought.

She opened the door to her bathroom and entered her bedroom. Her Shugo Charas were in their eggs, fast asleep in the cozy basket that Amu placed them in on her desk.

Amu quickly went to the bedside close to the window, and said, "Well, whatever it is, it doesn't matter! Time to get under the covers!"

She lay on top of the bed and pulled out the bed sheet and was shocked to see what lay in her bed. There beside her, curled up like a cat, was a boy with short, neck length, blue hair. He still wore his brown jacket and blue jeans. In fact, he didn't bother to take off his brown boots from the look of things.

Who he was and how he got there would be a mystery to most people. But to this wide-eyed girl, she knew him to be Tsukiyomi, Ikuto, a seventeen-year-old boy with the nasty habits of a stray cat.

Amu saw his sleeping face and blushed. "Wha?"

She saw how wonderfully handsome he was… "Wh-"

Suddenly she held her hair and had spirals for eyes as she shouted, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT?!!!!!"

Her Shugo Charas woke up and saw what Amu was witnessing. They too blushed and gasped. Miki even commented, "What a turn of events!"

Amu in panic said, "Wh-what the heck?! W-why is Ikuto in my bed?!"

It seems Amu's nights will be full of developments in a different direction.

* * *

In another part of the world, a lone C-2 Greyhound flew over the night sky.

The navy blue that carpeted the world, hindered not the vision of the blue eyes of the blonde playboy, John Tobias nor the brown eyes of the co-pilot Tony Thompkins. They had to stay awake to bring their passengers to their destination—Munich Germany.

While the two pilots flew a steady course, the rest of the crew slept safe and sound on the bunk beds in the cabin.

Moka and Kokoa slept on one bunk bed, Kurumu and Mizore in the one below them.

Ruby and Yukari shared a bed on another bunk with Tsukune sharing the bed below them with Lowe. Sadly for Tsukune, his partner wasn't steady when asleep. From time to time, Lowe would swing his arms and move in what looks like model poses. This gave Tsukune a hard time. Moreso when Lowe would suddenly hug Tsukune in 'compromising' positions. The poor boy was having nightmares he wished he never had.

Eventually, Tsukune woke up and literally rolled out of bed and onto the floor. He stood up and thought, _'I don't think I can bear another minute with him.'_

He looked around the room and saw that everyone was fast asleep. It was amazing how they were so rambunctious one minute and tamer than a kitten the next.

'_It was just yesterday that we found out about Miyabi and Fairy Tale. And in a few hours we will rescue Dante from the same people that manipulated Miyabi and his organization.' _The teen thought. He looked at the three computers across the cabin and said, "It feels like a dream." _'All of it doesn't seem real.'_

But then he remembered his conversation with Evangeline a few hours prior…

_Flashback_

_Tsukune suddenly said, "Evangeline, I don't know what made you think that I only have those choices, but I'm sure I can protect my friends. I'll be able to do what I can."_

_Evangeline pouted and said, "Is what you can do now, able to protect them against men like Miyabi?"_

_Tsukune froze when he heard her words. In fact, everyone else in the tent paused in a second of silence. _

_Evangeline said to him, "Miyabi is only the beginning. There are people like him across this world who abuse people with what they can do now. What you could do then wasn't enough. So what makes you think you have a chance the way you are now?"_

_Moka quickly replied, "Tsukune isn't weak! I'm sure that when the time calls for him, he'll be able to protect everyone."_

_Evangeline replied, "Time called for him when Mizore was kidnapped." There was an awkward silence until the alpha vampire said, "Time called each and every one of you to save her but only Dante answered the call. If Dante hadn't gone ahead, Mizore would be raped. With what he could do, he saved Mizore and stopped Miyabi. He's not as heroic as any of you, but even he knows that bravery is not blind faith."_

_End of Flashback_

Tsukune looked at one of the monitors and saw Moka's vital statistics. He thought to himself, _'Can I really save everyone like I promised Evangeline? Thinking back to it, I wasn't able to save Mizore. And before that, Inner Moka always saved me in the end.'_

He sat on one of the seats close to the monitors and accessed the Internet to research about their enemy, Sebastian Jenkins.

He looked through the articles and read it like a book.

'_Sebastian Jenkins: Born on January 2, 1965 Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Oxford University and assumed the role of assistant scientist to a man named Arkham. _

_Shortly before Arkham developed his medical condition, Mr. Jenkins left him in pursuit of a career in politics though his love for science remained._

_He successfully established a new nuclear power plant in Mongolia, increasing its economic stability and providing a stable source of energy for the country. Thanks to his scientific background, he was able to keep the power plant clean of toxic waste and create a proper disposal site for used uranium, keeping the environment clean._

_But that did not stop this man's progress. Thanks to his political influence, he was given the privilege of fixing Romania's sewages and citywide plumbing.'_

Tsukune paused and thought, _'This means that he is important in Mongolia and Romania. If he can use them as a shield, then attacking him directly will make us an enemy of the world.'_

Tsukune continued reading. _'The scientist turned politician was once attacked in his own home by a group of armed terrorists. In fear for his life, he has handpicked a small squad of mercenaries as his private bodyguards.'_

Tsukune noticed this bit of information and quickly created another search window on the computer. He searched for the article concerning the bodyguards and found information on all four of them. Making haste, he saved the articles on the computer and made a backup folder in a separate file on USB. While printing the background information of the bodyguards or 'Lancia' as they were dubbed, Tsukune continued his read on Sebastian Jenkins.

He could not understand everything that was written on the articles. Most were of the accomplishments of Mr. Jenkins and his theories considering ancient science and its application. But it did spark something in his mind.

'_Didn't Hakase-san mention something on this?' _Tsukune began. _'The fusion of magic and science. That was what she was researching. It looks like she isn't the only one in that study. According to this article, Jenkins-san and a team of researchers have been studying that theory for years to try and bring back 'ancient science' or magic with modern science. But how is all this linked to the demons attacking the world?'_

He put a hand on his chin and thought about the connections deeply. The big picture wasn't clear to him yet until he thought, _'Maybe it has something to do with the work of his teacher. Evangeline told us that Jenkins-san set up a new company for his research and that he was an old student of Arkham, the mad scientist.'_

He took a look through the Internet but found nothing more than old newspaper clippings of the ruined city the mad scientist lived in. According to the paper, the city Arkham lived in had become a ghost town with rotting flesh all over the place. What was interesting about it was that the rotted corpses were not human.

Then it struck Tsukune. _'Arkham was the one that brought demons into his hometown. He figured out a way to open up the Hell gate there and send demons into this dimension. This knowledge was just a theory when Jenkins-san was still his student. But Jenkins-san noticed his master's work and was able to apply the same method without losing his life.'_

He quickly steeled his thoughts and said, "Jenkins-san is using his research facility to open the Hell Gates from within them. He discovered his master's work after it failed and decided to recycle the man's plan." _'So he went and looked for a potential Hell Gate and built his research facility over them. But he needed to make sure his plan succeeded so he built over two gates. This is why he sought two unrelated countries that were worlds apart. Once this step was done, he sent his most trusted of Lancia into the Hell Gate to open the others from the inside and complete Arkham's plan.'_

"Now it's making sense." Tsukune said to himself as the plane began to descend.

Though the motive was incomplete, the method to his plan began to take shape. At the very least, they knew where to strike.

Soon enough, the mini speaker on the cabin wall hummed before sounding out, "This is your captain speaking, we are now in German airspace and will be landing in Munich shortly. Everyone fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing."

Tsukune quickly sat in the bunk he shared with and held the railing as the plane landed in the airport. Their mission had just begun.

* * *

As soon as the plane landed, the rear entrance of the C-2 Greyhound opened up allowing Tsukune's Company, minus the pilots to exit and take down their cargo. It was 6:00 PM in Munich, Germany but the airport was still packed with people.

Lowe exited the plane first and faced the Yokai students behind him. "Alright this is how it works. We book a couple of rooms and unpack there. We've got 12 hours to rescue Dante before they send his white ass sucking on German sausages. So nobody sleeps till we get him back here pronto."

Kokoa had a major nosebleed from what Lowe had just said.

But Yukari asked him, "Umm, Lowe-san, none of us know how to speak German. So how will we get a hotel suite?"

Lowe replied, "Aw, hell no!" he grunted and said, "Let me do the talking, got it?"

They nodded and Kurumu said, "Let's take out the heavy bags first and get a car ready."

Lowe ran, exiting the airport to look for a couple of trucks to borrow. This left the students to take out all the crates they needed for their mission.

They went to work and unloaded the heavy steel crates from the plane. Inside those crates were an RPG, 6 FAMAS, 6 MP5s, 5 M1911s, 1 Browning Hi-Power, a C14 timberwolf, a couple sets of grenades, some flashbangs, medical supplies, several sticks of Dynamite, mid range electronic surveillance computers, and PLENTY of ammunition.

After all the crates were unloaded, the students of Yokai Academy slumped beside them, finally realizing how heavy they were in their box form.

Moka said as she panted, "Even though we're Yokai, they eventually take a toll on you."

Tsukune replied, "To think that the human military does this everyday. They must be really strong."

Mizore replied, "It's not that heavy once you get used to it."

Kurumu pitched in, "That's true. These things won't slow me down."

Yukari stood up and said, "Lowe-san's car should be here soon. I'll go check."

The little witch carefully took a look at her surroundings and saw three large, black trucks moving towards them.

"It's here desu!" she shouted.

The three black trucks drove and parked with its rear facing them. Fully stopped, the rear doors opened revealing some young German men in blue uniforms. They quickly went to the crates and began loading them into the trucks.

Lowe came out of one of the trucks and said to the Yokai students, "Let's go. Our ride's here." as soon as he said that, all the crates were loaded into the trucks.

With the trucks fully loaded, the students of Yokai Academy went inside the trucks alongside Lowe and the German men.

The drivers shifted gears and drove deep into the city at exactly 6:39 PM.

* * *

Soon enough the three trucks parked just behind a medium sized hotel about three stories high. With the trucks in reverse, its doors facing the loading bay of the hotel, everyone got down from the trucks and begun walking to the loading bay.

The rear doors of the trucks opened wide and the German men in blue uniforms begun unloading the crates onto the platform.

While the German men did their duty, Lowe and the students of Yokai Academy gathered to one corner near a wall light.

Mizore began, "So what's the plan Tsukune?"

Kurumu added in, "Yeah. What do we do now?"

Tsukune said with certainty, "We will first check which hospital Dante is being held in. Hopefully he's still being held there and we can sneak him out without needing to fight."

Ruby suggested, "But it's been at least four hours. For all we know he's been transferred to a safer location."

Yukari replied, "That's impossible. Dante-san got struck by his own sword in the chest and got up after a few seconds. He must have been shot by an anti-demon bullet that kept him down so that the police can take him into custody."

Moka replied, "So none of it was by chance. That same enemy is guarding Dante from the shadows to prevent a rescue attempt. We have to find that man and stop him first."

Mizore replied, "I agree. If we capture him alive, we can get information about Sebastian Jenkins and reveal his next move."

Lowe pitched in, "Okay. I'll get to work and find that hospital. Once we know the location, we'll split into two teams. One to rescue our man and the other to capture the enemy. Be careful though. There weren't any eyewitnesses to our shooter so we're assuming he's a damn good sniper."

Kurumu suddenly piped up, "Yahoo! I'm getting excited already. Let's take down that bastard!"

* * *

The group from Youkai Academy had settled in a large room in the hotel. They were in room 305, the largest room of the hotel. In the west corner of the room, where the only outlets were, Yukari and Kokoa had set up the computers and monitoring devices. It was linked to the computers of the two pilots on the C-2 Greyhound.

Alongside the west wall of the room were the windows were placed, the crates and weapons lined up there, ready for use. Kurumu and Ruby were inspecting the weapons.

Mizore had set up the medical supplies in the bathroom, to the north of the room, with the entrance to the suite on the south. This left Tsukune and Moka to place the seven beds alongside the east wall.

Seeing that everyone was busy, Lowe said, "Alright, if you don't mind, I'm heading out first."

With Lowe exiting the room, everyone's hearts became much lighter than normal.

Moka said to Tsukune, "Lowe-san seems the most calm about this."

Tsukune stayed by Moka's left and asked her, "Really?"

Moka replied as she neatly arranged the beds, "Though he acts rough, his mind is relaxed and perceiving all the possibilities. I think he's a very good soldier."

But in contrast to her words, Moka's heart beat furiously. She shook ever slightly. Only Tsukune noticed how nervous she was at the moment. So he placed a hand on Moka's shivering hands. The young vampire looked into his eyes and smiled.

"It's okay Tsukune. I'm fine, see?" Moka replied.

Tsukune knew she was nervous. "Moka-san, I promise to bring you and everyone back alive." He faced her with seriousness and said, "I'll lay my life for you so that we can all come back together."

Moka blushed at his words and said, "Don't go making promises you can't keep okay?"

But to their dismay, a few people overheard their intimate conversation. Namely, Kurumu, Mizore, Yukari, Ruby, and Kokoa. Of course the latter didn't care. But the first four did from the dark auras surrounding them as they gazed at the backs of the two lovers.

Tsukune felt a cold shiver up his spine and knew what awaited him. He turned around and said, "Ah! Why are you all there? Umm, everyone?"

Mizore replied, "I thought you would say something like that. But why won't you lay down your life for your wife?" she raised her right arm up to show the newly made icicle claws.

Kurumu showed her claws as well and said, "Moka…you sneaky hussy. You're stealing Tsukune away again…"

Yukari and Ruby both nodded and said, "This is your fault."

Suddenly, the four left out ladies, yes, minus Kokoa, attacked Tsukune and Moka, ensuing a riot in the room…How will Dante get rescued?

* * *

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos in Europe, Amu was having her own nightmares to deal with. Namely Ikuto, sleeping soundly in her bed.

She had no idea WHY he was there or HOW he was there. It freaked her and her Shugo Charas out but the latter group had other comments on the situation.

"This _is _our room, right?" Su commented with glee.

Amu burst out, "Is that what you're thinking?!"

Miki said with thoughtful intrigue, "A sudden big, romantic incident."

Amu was about to shout back at them until she heard a voice say, "Shut up!"

She looked at where it came from with wide-eyed surprise. Turns out, it came from under Ikuto. However, she wondered in fright if Ikuto was still awake, knowing her voice was loud enough to be heard downstairs.

Movement was seen under Ikuto's head. But what came out was a little, bluish black, cat-like Chara named Yoru. He was tired as seen on his worn face. "I can't get any sleep, can I?" He muttered.

Amu still had saucer for eyes as she suddenly held onto Yoru and said, "Hey, hey you!!! Explain all of this! What is this all about?!"

Yoru yelped, "Gya! Calm down!"

After Amu had calm down, Yoru explained Ikuto's situation to Amu. In a gist, he told her that Ikuto ran away from home while a few men were chasing after him. So the little Shugo Chara dragged Ikuto to her house.

In reality, Ikuto had deserted Easter carrying his Father's violin and the humpty key that he stole. But as with all escaped convicts, Easter's men searched for him high and low throughout the city. Ikuto was too tired to run and sat by in an alley, the bitter frost gnawing through his clothes. Hadn't Yoru dragged Ikuto to Amu's house, the stray seventeen-year-old would have died a cold death.

Yoru finally huffed out, "And that's how it was. It was my idea to come over here. Understand, little girl?"

Amu said with a smile, "So that's how it was…"

She suddenly squeezed him tightly and with comical anger shouted, "MY ASS!!! YOU, YOU!!!

Yoru struggled for dear life while spirals became his eyes.

Ran wondered who those men that were after him. "Who was chasing after them?"

Miki replied, "Definitely the smell of a big incident."

Amu didn't think things through. All she thought was that it was a bad idea for Ikuto to be _in _her bed _at night._

"Hey! Ikuto, wake up! Get out of bed! Come on!" the pink haired girl said as she shook him.

Knock, Knock…

Amu froze as she heard that sound from her door.

"Amu-chan?" asked her father.

Amu quickly shut off the lights, jumped in bed beside Ikuto(facing him) and covered each other with the large blanket. All of which just in time as her father opened the door.

Tsumugu's eyes were still in a daze so he didn't notice the extra lump under her blanket. "What's wrong? I thought I heard loud voices?"

Tsumugu looked and saw that everything was silent and she was sound asleep. He thought he just heard things.

He left the room and shut the door, then paced back to his own.

But under the blankets he missed, Amu was facing Ikuto in a compromising situation. She blushed as she saw up close, the details of his handsome face.

'_S-so... so close!'_

She mustered her courage not to panic and said, "Oh, come on Ikuto! I said get up!"

Yoru commented, "Don't wake him up, to chase a sick person out in cold weather like this…"

Though eyes shut, Ikuto suddenly replied, "If you keep talking, your dad will come in again…"

Amu blushed and said, "E-even if you say that…" _'No, no it's not like that! His sleeping face looks so defenseless…it feels like he's younger than he is…H-how do I sleep like this?!!!'

* * *

_

But while Amu slept in a teenager's dream come true, the students of Youkai Academy were adamant for Lowe's return.

It was 10:39 PM and the students of Yokai Academy slept in while waiting for the foul-mouthed medic's return. Four hours have passed and he still hadn't returned home nor called to make his presence known.

But as the students slumbered waiting in vain, a low, heavy sound could be heard from the hallway outside the suite. It wasn't the soft and light steps of a burglar. It was the heavy steps of a lumbering man. He was bleeding but not too badly. The cut on his right arm was bandaged professionally. But the wound on his right leg and right side were still tender though sutured and bandaged.

The man walked to the door of room 305 and let himself in. When he entered the room, he noticed that all was quiet and everyone asleep. Seeing that they were still tired from their long journey, he paced to the computers and radios in the west corner and pulled a chair out to sit and input a few commands in the computer.

"I don't got much time…" said the dark skinned man.

But while he entered, Kokoa awoke from her slumber and saw the form of the man she knew as Lowe, typing away at the computer. She said with a startle, "When did you get here?"

Lowe answered, "Wake everyone up. It's Go Time."

Kokoa quirked an eyebrow until she smelled a familiar scent. Then she noticed the wounds on Lowe's right side. "Oi! You're bleeding! What happened to you?"

Tsukune and the rest woke up at her sudden yell. The young teens blinked as they looked to where Kokoa was yelling and saw the wounded man on the computer.

Moka quickly noticed the wounds on his side and said, "Lowe-san, what happened?! Did they…"

Lowe shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it. It's just a scratch. But I found Dante's hospital. Take a look at this."

The Yokai students gathered around the pc Lowe was working on and saw a 3d reference of the hospital named, Kinderheim. It was 7 stories tall, and 80 ft wide. It had a small helicopter pad on top of the roof and a large parking area in the back. Although there was a small parking strip across the front of the white building, there was only one entrance in the front and one in the back. No emergency exits lead to the sides.

Lowe said, "This is Kinderheim. It's a hospital filled with INTERPOL security of the highest level. These guys are guarding all the hot spots. There's snipers on the roof…" a picture of 6 INTERPOL snipers are shown guarding the rooftops. "At least 5 guards in the front…" a picture of 5 INTERPOL guards carrying MP5s guarded the front. "And 3 in the back door." A picture of 3 guards where shown, guarding the backdoor.

Moka piped up, "They're expecting a fight to break out. Though it seems like they're not prepared on the outside, most of their forces are inside the building."

Mizore replied, "So brute force will only send us to our deaths. We need to get in undetected to ensure our survival."

Kurumu asked, "But how will we do that? How do we walk right in?"

Lowe replied, "That's why I got us disguises. We'll dress up as doctors and nurses and waltz right in."

Yukari replied, "That's why you took a long time to get here. But why did you get wounded?"

Lowe replied, "I got these from the ambulance I hijacked from Kinderheim. A couple of the guards were in it when I took it. So I fought my way out and brought it here."

They nodded and Tsukune said, "I've got an idea. But I'll need all of you for this to work."

They listened intently as Tsukune explained. "We'll enter from the back using the ambulance as our cover. Moka, and I will enter the building ahead under the disguise as doctor and surgeon. Once we get in, Ruby will drive everyone else to the back under the disguise as medics with Kokoa and Yukari as the patients. From there, we split up and find Dante. When we find him, we'll use the excuse that he needs surgery in another hospital and take him back to the ambulance and out of Germany."

Mizore replied, "The plan is too simple. Will it really go as planned?"

Moka replied, "I'm not too sure about it but we don't have time to think of another. We'll just have to do our best with what we have."

Lowe replied, "We still have that enemy guarding Dante from the outside. I couldn't get in the hospital to check around but, if he's in hiding, he'll be where he can see all of Dante's movements like the buildings around the hospital." Lowe clicked a few things on the computer and showed the buildings around Kinderheim.

A blue building was on the hospital's northeast about 300 yards away. It was 8 stories tall and had a good view of the hospital windows.

A green building was on the hospital's west about 453 yards away. It was as tall as the hospital.

A gray building was located on the hospitals south. It was 10 stories high and 800 yards away.

Next to that was a red building under construction. It was about 10 stories high with plenty of scaffolding and a semi built water tower on top.

Mizore thought about it for a moment and said, "Then we'll use the old plan instead. We'll split into two teams—One to escort Dante out via the Ambulance and another to locate our surgical striker. Tsukune and Moka will act as doctors in charge of Dante and escort him to the Ambulance. Kurumu and Lowe will take Dante out of Kinderhiem and back to the plane. While this is happening, Me, Yukari, Ruby and Kokoa will search all four possible shooting positions and neutralize him."

Tsukune replied, "That could work. If he happens to be in the hospital, we'll be there to stop him as well. That was amazing Mizore-chan."

Mizore blushed and said, "It's nothing Tsukune. I just modified your plan."

Lowe sweatdropped and said, "Alright we gotta move on. Everybody suit up and pack da heat."

* * *

11:00 PM

A cold breeze blew over Kinderheim. The weather was cooling as midnight approached, leaving the INTERPOL guards in their Kevlar armor and MP5s to bite their tongues and conserve energy.

This was most true with the three guards at the backdoor of Kinderheim. One guard leaned by the doorway while the other two were just 7 ft away, ahead of him, conversing about this and that, unaware of the events ahead.

The guard asked his buddy, "Did you get a look at the guy Fritz? Can't believe he survived that. You know, if he's out cold in there, why are we guarding him out here? It's freezing out here."

Fritz answered, "Anything to pay the bills man. I just want to see my wife and kids when this over."

His friend elbowed him softly. "Hehehe. You son of a bitch. You never told me you're married. I…Johann Eikzein am utterly shocked you left me out of your bachelor's party."

Fritz shrugged knowing _that_ was the only thing on his friend's mind. Normally it'd annoy him but he knew better since he too was at that level earlier in life.

The father and soldier looked out into the dark street. So far nothing showed up…until an Ambulance came in.

It approached with its sirens alarming off until it reached the back entrance and quickly made a three-point turn, allowing its rear doors to face Kinderheim's entrance.

Johann quickly went to the driver's side and knocked on the door. The window rolled down to show Kurumu in a medic's outfit as the driver.

"Assistance, now!" Kurumu managed to utter in a slightly Japanese accent. Her German was sorely limited.

Fritz heard her plea and opened the rear door. Lowe came out in his medic disguise and pulled down a stretcher of what looks to be a badly bandaged but bleeding person with an oxygen mask over what looks to be the mouth.

Though the white blanket covered the patient's body from the neck down, it was obvious that he wasn't going to last long in his condition.

Fritz said to the guard at the door, "Jaeger, open the door!"

Jaeger did as he was told and left it open.

Kurumu turned off the vehicle, and got down from the ambulance and helped Lowe push the dying patient into the hospital. They ran with the stretcher through the halls, evading several nurses and doctors as well as a few INTERPOL guards.

Lowe said, "This way!" he quickly steered the patient into the hallway to the left with Kurumu following behind. Eventually they entered an empty emergency room. Kurumu quickly locked the door and pulled one of the nearby screens to cover the small window on the door.

Lowe looked around the room and saw nothing but empty beds and shut down monitors though the lights were still on. Seeing that everything was clear, he quickly put a hand on his right ear and a small click was heard.

"This is Lowe, all clear." He replied.

* * *

Tsukune was in his blue surgeon's outfit in the third floor. He was inspecting outside the window until he heard Lowe's reply on his earpiece in his right ear. He quickly put a hand on it and said, "This is Tsukune. I'm ready."

* * *

Moka was in her doctor's outfit on the fifth floor, in the women's comfort room. It was still empty so when she heard both men's reply, she placed a hand on her right ear and said, "This is Moka. I'm in position."

* * *

Yukari was at the base of the green building, 453 yards west from Kinderheim. Armed with a C-14 timberwolf, an MP5, and a M1911 She touched the earpiece and said, "I'm ready to go desu."

* * *

Kokoa was at the base of the blue building, 300 yards away. She was armed with an RPG, a FAMAS, an MP5 and a Browning Hi-Power. She said on her earpiece, "Kokoa here. Let's do this."

* * *

Ruby was at the base of the grey building, 800 yards behind Kinderheim. She was armed with a FAMAS, an MP5 and an M1911. "Ready for action Tsukune." She replied.

* * *

Mizore was at the base of the red building under construction. She was also armed with Ruby's gear but had some smoke grenades and a stick of dynamite. She was carefully looking at building as she said, "Waiting on your orders Tsukune."

* * *

Kurumu said on the earpiece, "Let's begin 'Operation: Cloak and Dagger'."

* * *

She and Lowe unwrapped the blankets of the patient to reveal their armaments hidden to look like a body with a badly wrapped and painted makeshift head to fool the guards.

Lowe armed himself with medical supplies first and foremost, four grenades, a FAMAS, an MP5 and an M1911.

Kurumu armed herself in the basic gear of a FAMAS, an MP5, and an M1911. Seeing that they were locked and loaded, they carefully peeked at the door's window to see if there were any guards.

Lowe said as he carefully opened the door, "No guards here. No docs either." He moved up from the door and faced one hallway with FAMAS at the ready. Kurumu followed behind him facing the opposite direction with FAMAS at the ready. She said, "Where did they all go? They were here a few minutes ago."

Lowe replied, "I wish I knew. They better not moved him already." He moved forward, down the hall with Kurumu tailing behind him. At the first corner, both of them stuck to the wall with guns safely pointed towards the intersection.

Lowe asked, "You're a youkai right? Is it possible to hear what's down the hall?"

Kurumu replied, "Yeah. But why would I need to?"

He replied, "They could be hiding behind a corner somewhere."

Kurumu concentrated her hearing as best as she could and heard nothing but breathing patients behind doors. "All I hear are sleeping patients. What's happening here?"

Lowe turned left. An empty hallway.

He moved up and saw the emergency staircase. "Reminds me of Vietnam. These punks hidin' in tall grass and shit. Only those guys were Japs not Nazis."

He realized what he just said. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to offend ya."

Kurumu answered, "It sounds like you really hated being there."

They carefully moved up the staircase and Lowe replied, "I loved it out there. War's like a tattoo. To paint a prettier life, you need to bear the pain."

Kurumu replied, "Heeh. I didn't take you to be philosophical. What's next? You'll tell me your life story?"

Lowe saw the entrance to the next floor and quickly crouched down by its corner. Kurumu followed suit and pulled out a small mirror from her make-up kit to see what's in those corners.

They saw their first guard. He was alone and his back faced the mirror. He was at least 6 ft. away.

Kurumu pulled back her mirror and whispered, "Not all of them left. They just moved up thinking it was easier to watch over Dante when they were closer to him."

Lowe replied, "That makes it harder for us. The first floor is mostly the lobby, morgue, storage and parking lot from what we've seen. All the real hospital rooms, including the surgery rooms are in the 2nd floor going up." _'We didn't get a good look at the map thanks to our cover. Shit man.'_

Kurumu placed a hand on her earpiece and said, "Tsukune, this is Kurumu. There's a guard just outside the emergency stairs. Are there any more on this floor?"

* * *

Tsukune replied, "We don't know for sure. But it looks like all the guards from the first floor moved up and reinforced the patrol on all the other floors. Be careful. I heard they turned on the cameras all over the place. I'm headed to the camera room to shut it off."

Tsukune strolled through the halls of the third floor, his blue surgeon's disguise not giving away who he was. He moved past several guards and a few doctors still on night shift. He was incognito.

Tsukune walked to the directory and thought, _'Dante's room must be here somewhere. But that camera room is also here.'_

He looked through the directory for the emergency care rooms. So far they were in the 2nd floor. He checked for the surgery rooms and found that they were in his floor.

"Excuse me, doctor?" a brown haired nurse said from behind Tsukune.

The Japanese boy turned around in mild nervousness and said, "Eh? Me?" sadly he said it in Japanese.

The nurse was a bit puzzled until she said in english, "Ohhh… you must be Dr. Tenma, the transferee from Japan. I'm so sorry. I assumed you were Dr. Vanderg since your hairstyle look alike." Tsukune scratched his head and said in English, "It's okay. Can you speak Japanese?"

She switched her languages and said in perfect Japanese, "Yes. I can. Is it still hard for you to switch languages?"

He replied, "A little bit. My English is still rusty. By the way, I have a favor to ask. Do you know where the camera room is? My friend works there and I'm not familiar with this place."

She replied with a smile, "I'd be happy to." She pulled on his arm and said, "This way."

Tsukune was caught off guard by her sudden aggression. He was glad no one he knew was watching or he'd get a fistful of bruises the next morning.

* * *

But while Kurumu and Lowe were at it in the 2nd and Tsukune on the 3rd, Moka was roaming the fifth floor in search of Dante. Thanks to her naturally friendly persona and her doctor's disguise, she was able to blend well with the crowd of surgeons and nurses on this floor.

She paced to the director's office until she noticed a group three nurses talking amongst themselves.

"Did you see that guy? He's a real winner." Said one female nurse.

"I know right? But what's with the red trenchcoat? Is he a moviestar or something?" said another."

Moka walked to them and said, "What are you guys talking about?"

One nurse replied, "Oh that new patient that's been all over the news. He's so cute."

Moka knew this was her lead. "Eh? That guy's here?"

"You're new around here right? Well, they took him to the sixth floor after surgery." Answered the other nurse.

"But with all these guards around, I can't take a pee without watching my back. Most of them are guarding that floor too." Said one of the nurses.

Moka replied, "Only certain doctors are allowed beyond that point. They don't want to expose him to just anyone from what I can tell."

She trotted along to the elevator down the hall. When she reached the elevator, she quickly went in and closed the door behind her and pressed the button for the sixth floor. She touched her earpiece and said, "I've found Dante. He's on the sixth floor. It's heavily guarded and the cameras are still up. I'll try to go in."

* * *

Tsukune heard her reply but could not answer back since he was still in the presence of the nurse who dragged him to the camera room. They were just in front of the camera room and the brown haired nurse turned to face him. "This is it Dr. Tenma."

"Thank you." Tsukune replied as the nurse politely bowed and walked away. Seeing that he was alone again, he touched his earpiece and replied, "On my signal, Kururmu and Lowe will move to the elevator and go to the sixth floor. Moka-san, be very careful."

"Roger." Lowe, Kurumu and Moka replied.

Tsukune asked on the earpiece, "Mizore-chan, Ruby, Kokoa and Yukari-chan…have you found him yet?"

* * *

Ruby entered the gray building and said, "Nothing yet. I'm sending my search spells throughout the building and so far no one looks suspicious. How about you Yukari-chan?"

* * *

Yukari replied, "Same here. This building is empty though. There's no sign of anyone in or out aside from the two security guards up front." She walked down the halls passed the lobby where the two guards she mentioned were soundly 'asleep' with metal basins over their heads.

She quickly ran to the elevator room, took the elevator and pushed the button to the last floor. The metal box shut its doors and rose to its destination. But while she rode it, she replied on her earpiece, "Like Lowe-san said, if he's anywhere watching Dante, he'll be watching him where he can see his every movement."

The elevator chimed in and its doors opened. She stepped out and ran to the stairs down the hall. When she reached the stairs, she quickly took out her magic wand despite the weapons slung over her shoulders and waved it quickly, sending a few magical cards to explore the floors below. She then ran up the stairs until she reached the door to the rooftop. Before busting down the door, she quickly tucked in her wand and pulled out her MP5.

Without delay, she kicked open the door and aimed the MP5 in front of her. She looked around with gun at the ready and saw that she was the only one there. She put her guard down seeing the empty spaces between her. The little witch walked to the roof's edge where she could see the hospital. Though dark, almost pitch black she had a good view of the hospital. She lay down her MP5 and began setting up her C-14 timberwolf sniper rifle.

* * *

Kokoa on the other hand had a different story to tell. The blue building she was in was empty but she could tell someone was here. There were signs of footsteps all over the carpeted flooring. But the prints were heavier and nothing like regular shoeprints.

She kneeled down on the carpeted floor and looked at the heavy footprints. _'These aren't regular shoe prints. They look more like the shoe prints that Onee-san's combat boots leave behind. I bet if I follow them, I'll find that shooter.'_

She armed herself with her MP5 and carefully followed the prints that led to the elevator.

* * *

Mizore began climbing up the seemingly endless scaffolding of the red building under construction. It wasn't difficult to climb given her natural strength and agility as a youkai. But it was tiring for a yuki onna. Especially one armed with guns.

She climbed onto one metal beam and looked at her progress so far. She was at least in the fifth floor. There was no one but her. This puzzled her. She looked forward and saw a hanging plank of wood, suspended by ropes. She jumped onto it and saw there was nowhere else to jump from there.

She looked above and saw a beam over her head. But it was too high to reach in one leap. So she looked to her left and saw a beam she could jump off. She quickly ran and jumped to that beam, kicked off it and grabbed onto the beam above that was once unreachable.

She went through the elaborate maze of beams and scaffolding until she got to the ninth floor where there was a set of bricks and hammered down flooring covering several parts of the floor. She walked to the flooring close to where she could see the back of Kinderheim and its windows. She sat there and pulled out a blue lollipop and began sucking on it while she viewed the hospital 800 yards away.

'_This is troublesome. The elevator on this building doesn't even work.' _She looked around and thought, _'But from here, you have a clear view of Kinderheim hospital's back and rooftops. You can even see who comes and goes through the hallways from the hospital windows. This would give a skilled shooter a good vantage point should any intruder pass that side. But I'm here at the ninth floor yet I don't see anyone on this building. This doesn't make sense.'_

Mizore looked up and saw the semi-built water tower at the final floor. It was small but not too small for someone to fit inside. But if their target _was_ there, he'd have hidden on the railings of the water tower for easy access and easy disappearances.

Mizore was curious about the water tower and quickly leaped through the scaffolding and onto the railings of the water tower. It seems she was the only one in the building. She thought, _'This doesn't make any sense at all. This is the best sniping position from all four buildings but no one is here. Are we really facing a sniper here?'_

She quickly clicked on her earpiece and said, "There are no enemies in this building."

"Eh?" Yukari answered. "None here too."

Ruby replied next, "This building is empty as well."

Kokoa finally answered, "I found strange footprints. But no one else is in the building. He's definitely not here."

Mizore replied, "You said you found strange footprints. Can you describe them?"

Kokoa replied, "They looked like the type of prints combat boots would make. I thought they were different from all the shoeprints here but as soon as I followed them, they lead to the elevator and disappeared."

Mizore thought about it. _'To disappear would mean our enemy took off his boots or cleaned his tracks. It's as if he knew he was going to be followed.'_

Moka suddenly answered, "I'm sorry. They wouldn't let me into Dante's room no matter what. All the doctors responsible for him had finished their rounds for the evening. So what's the plan now?"

Suddenly it began to fall into place in Mizore's head. _'It's beginning to make sense. No one except handpicked doctors could visit Dante and INTERPOL has a strong defence unit patrolling the hospital making an inside attack difficult. So that leaves an outside attack where he can see all the patrol routes and possibly Dante should he turn up. This also plays in his favor since this enemy is a long ranged expert. Leading us to the four possible sniping spots with Ruby's and mine as the clearest and farthest vantage point. But he knew that INTERPOL wasn't his only enemy so he didn't show up at any sniping position. He's still waiting for his chance to strike Dante where we can't touch him.'_

But as she thought about it, Tsukune said over the earpiece, "I'll turn off the security now."

* * *

Tsukune entered the camera room and shut the door behind him. Luckily the man, sitting by the monitors didn't notice him right away.

Seeing his chance, Tsukune quickly pulled out a chloroform filled handkerchief and grabbed the man in a headlock before placing the handkerchief over his mouth. The man struggled and flailed, nearly overpowering Tsukune. He forced himself up, knocking over his chair as he tried to pry Tsukune's hands loose. The teen did his best to hold him down and decided to kick the man's knee joints, sending him to the ground. Tsukune kneeled down, holding onto the headlock till the chemical did its thing and knocked the guard out cold.

Tsukune let go of the man and panted as he looked at his handiwork before looking back at the security cameras. He quickly found the switch and shut it off, eliminating all the cameras.

* * *

But as soon as he did, the hidden cameras at the four specially coloured buildings activated, recording Ruby, Kokoa, Yukari and Mizore in action. And the fact that they were armed didn't help either.

Back at CNN Germany branch, a news broadcast was rolling. Everything was running like oil until their monitors suddenly received an anonymous video feed showing the four youkai armed to the teeth.

The director quickly noticed this and sent his men to work. As soon as he got his hot new info on the video feed, he begun changing the script for the live broadcast.

The news anchorman was given his new script and said, "We've just received an emergency broadcast of four young teenagers armed to the teeth at different buildings outside Kinderheim hospital. The hospital in question is currently housing the 'Pizzera Massacre's' number one suspect who was shot this afternoon. As for the connection between the four teenagers, the hospital and the suspect, no other information has been released as of tonight. But according to our sources, INTERPOL has put Kinderheim under house arrest and is guarding the massacre suspect as we speak."

CNN had a great amount of viewers, especially amongst people with international affairs such as INTERPOL. The small army of INTERPOL agents guarding their hospital fortress saw the live broadcast on the available TVs at hand. This of course sent them on high alert as guards began running back and forth to secure the perimeter and for the INTERPOL snipers to begin taking position behind anything on the rooftops they were in, and zeroed in their scopes at the locations where Mizore, Kokoa, Yukari and Ruby could be seen.

* * *

Yukari lay prone on the hard cement of the green building's rooftops with her sniper rifle ready and her scope clean and mounted. She noticed the moving INTERPOL snipers from her scope and said over her earpiece, "Daihen desu. The snipers began moving behind cover. They've probably spotted us!"

One sniper managed to get a glimpse of Yukari's position and fired at her. It missed, shooting off her hat.

Yukari was startled by the sudden shot and fired back on reflex, hitting her shooter's rifle, disabling it for good.

"Shots fired! I repeat, shots fired!" shouted the INTERPOL sniper's team leader.

* * *

Moka heard the shots from her position in the sixth floor and ran down the hall and hid in the nearest janitor's closet. She knew that it came from the west of the hospital leaving only one conclusion to who fired that shot.

She quickly said on her earpiece, "Yukari-chan, don't shoot back! We're not allowed to hurt humans!"

"Everybody, secure the package!" said a loud voice just outside the closet. No doubt he was this floor's team leader. "I want that shooter down for good. Be prepared to use deadly force!"

Moka thought, _'How did Yukari-chan get discovered? Did the INTERPOL snipers see her?' _she said on her earpiece, "Yukari-chan, please leave your position. You'll get shot at again at a worse place."

* * *

Yukari carefully inched back to avoid getting shot at a second time. As she crawled back with guns in hand, Moka answered, "Are you okay Yukari-chan?"

Yukari said as she crawled to the stairs, "Hai desu. I'm not injured. But how did they find me?"

* * *

Tsukune from inside the camera room, heard the shots as well and the current conversation. He was about to reply until he saw INTERPOL guards moving down the hall towards the emergency staircase. They were probably heading towards the exit to flank the green building.

Tsukune suddenly remembered who was waiting by those stairs and thought, _'Oh no! Kurumu and Lowe!'_

He quickly said on his earpiece, "Kurumu! Lowe! Get out of there quick!"

* * *

Lowe said to Kurumu, "Time to run like a bitch."

But as he said that, a guard entered the staircase and was shocked to see them there.

The guard was aiming his gun at Kurumu but Lowe was faster and leaped and shoved the guy back onto the second floor hall. He quickly crouched back into the staircase and fired panic shots into the second floor, sending the guard to quickly crawl, then run to the end of the hall where he took cover and fired back.

Kurumu quickly charged into the second floor, dodging the guard's bullets and getting close to him. She quickly swat his head with the butt of her gun, and said on her earpiece, "Tsukune, where's the elevator?!"

Tsukune replied over it, "They're pouring onto the 1st and 2nd floor to get to Yukari-chan. Just find a place to hide and wait for them to pass."

Lowe ran to Kurumu's side and said, "The kid's right. It'll take em' a while to get over there, but it means less guards and lead."

Both of them ran into another room down the hall and waited for the guards to pass. There were quite a few men that ran through that hall but after two minutes the coast was clear, leaving Kurumu and Lowe to run down the halls and into the elevator.

* * *

Ruby was inside the grey building overlooking the hospital. After those first shots, she was worried for Yukari's sake. But when she went to one of the windows of the building, she saw a small squad of INTERPOL guards below, entering her building.

She quickly ran towards the staircase and said, "Mizore, Kokoa, we've been compromised."

* * *

From her perched position on the water tower, Mizore looked at the back exit of Kinderheim and saw INTERPOL guards pouring out of it like ants from its next. She thought, _'How is it possible? Ruby was out of range of their line of sight.'_

She looked down and saw some of the INTERPOL guards moving to her building. She needed to get out fast. She leaped off the water tower and began climbing down, making sure she got out quicker than they could trying to get up.

But as she leaped down onto a metal beam, she noticed something quite familiar at the corner of her right eye. She looked there and saw a hidden camera, taped to the vertical beam, facing where she had been on the water tower.

She thought, _'He knew. He knew we'd be searching those four locations because they were places he had the best shot from. He planned this all along. He's not just an expert sniper. He's an expert counter sniper.'_

She didn't waste time and threw an ice kunai at the camera_. _Without haste, she quickly made her way down the floors and said on her earpiece, "Kokoa, do you see any hidden cameras on your floor?"

* * *

Kokoa heard the command and looked around the room she was in. when she looked to one corner of the room, at corner ceiling, she noticed the hidden camera taped to the wall.

She quickly threw one of the chairs at it, shattering the camera and the chair in the process. She ran towards the elevator and quickly pressed the button to the ground floor, letting the elevator ride her to the bottom as quickly as it could. When it reached the ground floor, she jumped out of it and made her way to the entrance until she saw INTERPOL guards enter the building and open fire at her. She ducked for cover behind a nearby couch and thought, _'That sneaky bastard. When did he plan all this?!'

* * *

_

Tsukune didn't like where things were going. So far, they were discovered, Yukari accidentally shot back at an INTERPOL agent and Dante is most likely being guarded very heavily. But he had no choice. He quickly made his way out of the camera room, down the halls, and to the elevator. He pressed the button to the elevator, and when it opened up, he saw Kurumu and Lowe inside. They pulled him in and the doors shut behind him, letting the metal contraption take them to the sixth floor.

Tsukune pulled out his MP5 from under his disguise, and said, "What happened out there?"

Mizore replied on the earpiece, "We underestimated our enemy. He placed hidden cameras all over the four sniping positions, exactly where the four of us stood."

Lowe replied, "The fuck?! That ain't right."

Mizore replied, "He knew we were coming for him as well as Dante. But now we don't know where he is hiding or if he's anywhere here at all. You'll need to stay low and avoid the windows."

The elevator stopped after Mizore said that. They were at the 6th floor.

As soon as it opened, Tsukune, Kurumu and Lowe ran forward to the nearest corner, avoiding being seen by the guards across the hall. The hallway had windows at their right, that let the light in. They seemed to be in the north side of the hospital.

Lowe was about to throw a grenade down the hall until Moka suddenly showed up behind the guards across the hall and grabbed them by the neck with both hands and smashed their skulls together, 'lightly'…for a vampire that is.

With the guards unconscious, Tsukune yelled out, "Nice work Moka-san!"

Moka smiled lightly as Dante appeared behind her, fully dressed and ready for battle.

Dante said, "Thanks to her, I'm out a hospital bed for good. Now let's get moving."

Kurumu said, "Stay low. You don't wanna get shot by what's out there."

Dante and Moka crouched as Lowe tossed a smoke grenade across the hall. The canister exploded, letting smoke fill the halls, shielding their escape from the eyes of the windows.

Dante and Moka quickly ran as fast as they could in their crouched position…

BOOM!!! CRASH!!!

The sound of a gunshot followed by the sound of glass shattering….

THUD!!!

The sound of something heavy hitting the floor…..

When the smoke cleared, Moka lay there, on her left side, a hole in her chest and a pool of blood quickly flowing from it.

Tsukune could not believe his eyes…. It couldn't be true….

Red…. Flowing red….

Her eyes….glazing over….

Her lips…fading to blue…

It can't be true…

It can't be true…

It shouldn't have ended this way…

….

….

….

"MOKAAAAAAA!!!"

Tsukune ran as fast as he could but Lowe restrained him and said, "Stay the fuck down!!! Dante!!!"

Dante quickly grit his teeth as he pulled Moka from the floor but got shot at the right shoulder. He fell down but quickly covered Moka with his size and crawled carefully through the hallway. It was just ten feet to escape. Then this…

Kurumu yelled out, "That bastard will pay!!! Where is HE?!!!"

Her wings grew from her back and she didn't care if she was going to get shot. She just wanted revenge. She ran to the window using her inhuman speed but as soon as she crashed through the window to the outside, she was shot down in the left shoulder, sending her spiralling back into the hallway she tried to leap out from.

Lowe pinned Tsukune down, the boy having lost his nerve and wits.

Kurumu on the other hand crawled on her right arm and legs back to Tsukune's side, with Dante following behind. They still had eight feet to cover before safety.

Tsukune cried his eyes trying to push Lowe away but the older dark skinned man yelled, "Don't you dare go out there! You get shot, you'll get killed! Who's gonna save em if you've got lead in your face?!"

Tsukune replied, "But if I don't, Moka-san, Kurumu and Dante will…"

Lowe replied, "Bullshit! Listen to me. We're gonna make it okay? I ain't leaving any of you hangin. You gotta calm the fuck down and think alright?"

Tsukune pushed him away and said, "How are we supposed to save them."

Seeing his calm but shaken expression, Lowe replied, "Listen up kid. That sniper is shooting from an angle. We're in the east end of the north hallway. They're in the west. He's shooting at us from the northeast."

Tsukune said, "But Kokoa was there! She said there wasn't anybody there!"

Lowe replied, "It doesn't matter. Right now you gotta lay suppressing fire on that place while I take the wounded. You can do that right?"

Tsukune's eyes sharpened, his pupils like a cats, while a shade of crimson became the eye's color. "I'll do that. I'll have revenge."

Lowe brought out another smoke grenade and tossed it into the hallway, allowing Tsukune to run to the windowside, crouch down carefully and take aim at the blue building.

Lowe ran to Kurumu, picked her up and doubled back to the corner he came from.

Tsukune thought as she focused his eyesight, _'I'll kill him….'_

Lowe ran over to Dante's side and helped the man to his feet and both picked up Moka as the smoke begun to disappear.

Tsukune gripped his MP5 firmly. He focused his youki on his eyes and his hands, his gaze sharpened, his heart cold.

Lowe yelled at Tsukune, "What are ya waitin for? Shoot!"

Dante replied, "Move it kid!"

Lowe and Dante helped carry Moka to Kurumu's side as the smoke disappeared completely. They didn't have time to waste. Tsukune needed to shoot now.

"Shoot kid! Shoot!" Dante yelled.

But for Tsukune, time had seemingly stopped, his eyes gaining an immense focus. He suddenly saw the blue building like he had binoculars fitted onto his sockets. He carefully looked at the windows for the sniper and suddenly saw a small glint of light on the eight floor. It looked to be at the very back of the room as well.

Tsukune saw his chance and fired one shot at that glint. Sadly gravity and range meant the shot tumbled down before it could reach the building and hit the sixth floor window of the building.

A gunshot was heard and Dante suddenly managed to pull Tsukune back as the bullet passed through and hit the wall where Tsukune's head would've been.

Dante replied to him, "You did good kid. Now let's get out of here. My arm's killing me."

Without hesitation, He, Lowe and Tsukune carried Moka and Kurumu as they hurried out of the scene of injury, never to return. Germany was no longer a safe haven for their kind.

* * *

1:33 AM

The C-12 Greyhound flew straight for Japan, at maximum cruising speed.

In the cabin of the plane, everyone was down after what happened in that mission.

Currently, Moka was asleep on a bunk bed with an oxygen mask on her mouth, an IV on the rail of her bed, and her vital statistics on the monitor, glowing yellow.

Kurumu on the other hand was on another bunk bed, her blouse gone, but she was bandaged from her left shoulder to just below her bust. She was also asleep, tired but stable.

Dante on the other hand was alive and well though he too was bandaged but from right shoulder to just below his chest.

However, the devil hunter knew the mood wasn't lifting anytime soon. He could see it in their eyes.

Though unscathed, Ruby, Yukari, and Kokoa managed to evade INTERPOL's swarm and sting manoeuvres. But emotionally, they were already casualties the moment that they found out Moka, Kurumu and Dante had been shot.

Currently, the three were gathered around the table in the center of the room. Seated, but not present in heart.

Mizore on the other hand had minor bumps and bruises. It was nothing that she wouldn't heal from, but she was at a loss at what to do as she sat gazing at the weapons she was placing by the sides of the cabin. _'This wouldn't have happened, if I realized his ploy sooner. In the end all I did was run while we fell for all his plans one after the other. It should've been me there…not Moka…'_

She looked back to see her friends, down and in desolation. Most especially, Tsukune, who dedicated himself to managing the computer and Moka's vital statistics.

The poor boy was there but could do nothing to save her. He couldn't even shoot down the sniper that nearly took his friends' lives.

Mizore remembered what Jack Frost had said about Fairy Tale and thought, _'They will draw first blood…Tsukune…that should mean nothing now that we are alive right?'_

But Tsukune just looked at the monitor, his eyes crimson and slit. But now his eyes had a stronger and colder gaze to them.

What his eyes were looking at were none other than the biographies of the Lancia of Sebastian Jenkins.

He began reading them.

'_Lancia number 00: Cassius. Japanese citizen. Born July 8, 1991._

_Graduated from Todai University with a Bachelor's degree in Criminology._

_He was a genius with an IQ of 190 and two time champion marathon runner._

_After graduating college, he entered service as a tank commander before being kicked out of his unit and becoming a mercenary. He revolutionized tank warfare with his unique strategies and his powerhouse of a tank dubbed, __**Asuka.**__'_

He saw a picture of the tank and the face of Cassius. He had brown hair and a grey suit while his tank was painted red and grey.

Tsukune moved onto the next biography.

'_Lancia number 01: Raggio. Greek citizen. Born July 8, 1985._

_Graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology._

_He enlisted in the army's Infantry Division and rose to the ranks of 2__nd__ Lieutenant._

_He quit the army shortly after and became a freelance mercenary with specialties in explosives, chemical and psychological warfare.'_

Suddenly Mizore went behind him and said, "Tsukune…please stop…"

Tsukune shrugged and said, "Mizore-chan…just stay away…"

Dante placed a hand on Mizore's shoulder and said, "C'mon. Let's get some rest. we're gonna need it when we land back in Japan."

Dante faced the rest of the Youkai-gumi and said, "Same goes for everyone."

Kokoa banged her hand on the table and stood. "How could you say that right now?! Onee-san…Onee-san got hurt because of you!!"

Ruby replied, "Kokoa, we knew this could happen. It was part of this mission."

Kokoa replied, "This is all your fault too! You didn't get to her fast enough. You have no right!"

"Kokoa!" Lowe suddenly yelled as he entered from the cargo bay. "Look, I know this is fucked up, but you gotta tone down or she ain't wakin up for good."

Kokoa was about to yell at Lowe until Moka sighed and turned slightly. Kokoa just marched to her bed and pulled the covers over her.

Yukari bowed before Lowe and said, "I'm so sorry that she acts that way. Please understand, she just cares about Moka-san a lot."

Dante rubbed her head and said, "There, there little miss. She's gonna be fine. The bullet missed her heart by 8 cm so she'll be fine." _'Still, those were anti-demon bullets. She could've been down for good if it weren't for that miracle.'_

Yukari went to bed as well with Ruby following suite.

Seeing no room for him left, he went to the cargo bay and decided to rest up there before the first light hits the windows.

Lowe decided to follow Dante's example, leaving Mizore and Tsukune to themselves.

Mizore knew that Tsukune had feelings for Moka though she fought fiercely to steal his. But in the end, it was obvious who he truly loved.

Mizore asked Tsukune, "Tsukune, if I were to become someone else…will you live for me?"

Tsukune said without looking, "Whatever you want."

Mizore replied, "Tsukune, I want you to look at me."

Tsukune turned around from his seat and faced her. His eyes still crimson and slit yet cold and hardened by sorrow. He said to her, "What's on your mind?"

Mizore closed her eyes and shook her head. "You're changing Tsukune. You've become like me but much scarier. I missed the old Tsukune…"

Tsukune looked down and said, "That man has fallen asleep. There's nothing that can wake him now that his friends have shed blood."

Mizore asked, "So what should I do to wake him up?"

Tsukune replied, "You can comfort me for a while…" he got up from his seat and went closer to Mizore. He placed his hands on her shoulders, grasping her clothes lightly but firmly. She shivered slightly knowing what would come next and the few minutes after that.

Tsukune then moved his hands to her cheeks and leaned in closer for a kiss until Moka moved again in her sleep.

Distracted for a moment, Tsukune decided not to continue forward knowing it would hurt Moka and Mizore. He drew away from her and said, "Get some rest. Morning will come soon." And he sat once again on the computer chair and read the rest of the biographies.

Mizore stood there for a moment, her heart returning to its normal pace. _'Don't give up yet Tsukune. This isn't over…'_

With that she turned, walked into her bed and slept for the night…however short it will be.

* * *

And that's a wrap!

I'll see you in the next chapter.

Barkeep: wait a minute…first Amu gets a personality shift now Tsukune? Are you mad? This aint no psychology thesis!

So? It's interesting. Plus, it keeps the suspense going.

Barkeep: alright, I gotta admit, that sniper thing was really cool. Guess I'll wait for the next chapter to pop up.


	6. Secret Mission 06: Trained to Feel

Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

* * *

A/N: Well I'm glad there were people who reviewed this story. Not many multicrossovers get reviewed past double digits so hopefully this story can at least get past twenty to thirty reviews.

Barkeep: Hopefully? There's a few multicrossover stories that get reviews in the hundreds.

Few yes, but few nonetheless. I'm hoping this one can join the few. Anyway, I've faxed the script to Dante so he should've got the idea by now.

Barkeep: alright, enough with the chatting, lets let them do their job okay?

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 06:**_ Trained to Feel_

_

* * *

_

A bright and beautiful sunrise rose in the east, its rays showering the world and setting the course for a few flocks of birds flying towards the horizon. One of those birds, was heading towards the east, its steel wings and propellers straining against the eastern wind.

The C-2 Greyhound flew at full speed, its white wings cutting through the clouds towards that orange light. This steel bird had seen its share of war in Germany and wished to take refuge in the land of the rising sun. In fact, the plane's pilots wanted nothing more than rest after what they had heard happened in Germany.

The blonde pilot, John Tobias looked at the dials in front of him and said, "Hey Tony, that mission reminds of Vietnam. Course, there weren't anti-air guns tryin' to shoot us down."

His brown haired friend scowled and said, "It was better than babysitting a bunch of kids."

John adjusted the plane's speed. "I second that motion. But you think they'd be all right after what they went through? I mean they were paler than this baby when they rushed back from wherever they came from."

Tony replied as he checked the fuel gauge, "They'll survive. If they can come back in one piece, they're ready for any hellhole you send them at."

John said with a surprised look, "Hey, ain't that a little cold? I mean we were kids once right? We saw our friends shot down too and—"

Tony interrupted, "But we didn't gawk around. Had we waited and cried our little eyeballs out, we'd be tasting the dirt instead of that cup of coffee beside you."

John wanted to disagree knowing the pain of loss. But Tony had a point. The important thing was to keep alive despite who dies on your left and on your right. But to be so cold about it wasn't what John wanted to hear.

As things went silent, the metal door behind them opened up, revealing Lowe ready for action again in his medic attire. The dark skinned man looked through the cockpit window and saw the beautiful morning rising early as always, its rays shining through the glass with a beautiful glow.

The dark skinned medic said, "They're sleepin real tight but uh, they ain't doin so well, you know wat I mean? Pretty heavy stuff happened back in Germany so they're taking it real hard."

John replied, "Relax, we're almost home. Things outta get smoother once we land."

With that, he guided the plane down a lower altitude in preparation to land in Japan's shores.

* * *

7:00 AM,

Mahora Academy, Japan

The C-2 Greyhound landed in Mahora Academy's Port, it's rear hatch facing the concrete floor of the docks.

The plane's engines begun dying down as the hatch fell down to floor.

Inside the steel bird, Lowe opened the door to the cargo bay. He said to the now awakened students of Youkai Academy, "I'll be escorting you back to wherever you need to go so just lead the way."

Tsukune replied in a deadpanned voice, "We just need to get behind Mahora middle school. It's not that far." But right after, he gazed down at Moka, seated in a wheelchair in front of him. She wasn't strong enough to stand so it was his duty to push her all the way back to their home base.

Dante said as he excused himself forward, "Well, I'll be at a payphone somewhere." With that, he walked out of the plane and into the busy streets of the city-wide campus.

Kurumu faced her friends and said, "I'll go with Dante first. There's a few things I wanna ask."

Mizore said with a lazy look, "Fine with me. I'll steal Tsukune while you're away."

Kurumu had veins throbbing on her head as she replied, "Shut up, stalker onna. You're getting too bold today."

She waved them goodbye and trotted towards Dante's location.

Tsukune pushed Moka's wheelchair forward with Ruby, Yukari, Kokoa, Mizore and Lowe escorting them. They moved through the docks and into the crowded streets hoping to find a place to cool off and seriously fight their opponents.

As they moved along the streets Yukari thought, _'I can't believe Moka-san was shot in the chest despite the smoke screen. He must be able to see youki as clear as day for him to see them. This is so frustrating.'_

As they continued their walk, they managed to reach the clearing in the forest where their tents were still up and the magical yet seemingly digital map of the world still operated under the watchful eye of Hakase.

She was operating the computers and projectors, her focus without hindrance. But her senses weren't as dull as one would imply for she heard their footsteps and turned to face them. "Hello everyone. Tsukune, the emergency room is ready for Moka-san. You can use it as you please."

Tsukune nodded and replied, "Thank you Hakase-san."

His eyes were still crimson and slit, and his face was paler than usual…this wasn't the regular Tsukune and the rest of the group begun to take notice.

Mizore asked him, "Did you call Hakase-san?"

Tsukune replied, "Hai. Before we landed, I had her prepare the room for Moka-san."

"Eh? Wha-why?" the pink-haired girl asked.

Tsukune gazed his cold eyes at her and said, "Moka-san, Lowe only pulled out the bullet and sutured the wound. There is still a possibility of contamination so you need full treatment."

Although hesitant to answer, Moka conceded. "Okay Tsukune. But how long have you been up? Did you stay up all night?"

Lowe gently pushed Tsukune aside and said, "I hate to interrupt but you need your surgery."

Lowe quickly pushed the wheelchair towards the tent but Moka wasn't amused. "You're very rude Lowe-san. Why did you stop me?"

Lowe replied, "Stop whining and bitchin' for a second. I'm trying to help you."

Moka replied, "You don't need to curse and shout. It's not helping anyone at all."

Lowe grunted and kept pushing the wheelchair until they reached the tent, leaving a gaping silence with the group they just left behind.

Hakase noticed the quiet air around them and said, "Did anything happen back in Germany?"

Ruby nodded slightly, telling the mad scientist that things went very bad.

Tsukune put his right hand in his pocket and pulled out the now misshapen slug that was once lodged into Moka, Kurumu and Dante's bodies. He approached Hakase and asked, "Hakase-san, I have another favor to ask." placing the bullet in her hand, he said, "This was the bullet that hit three of my friends and put Moka in a wheelchair. Can you analyze it for me and tell me what this is?"

Hakase looked at the bullet and said, "Give me an hour and I think I can help you. But this slug type looks familiar though so it won't take that long."

Tsukune replied, "Please. I'm counting on you."

Hakase said with a smile, "It'll be alright Tsukune. I'm a mad genius for something. Oh! While you were away, the Dean of Mahora middle school was looking for you. He wants to talk to you and Ruby about your school."

Of course, Ruby and Tsukune wondered what it was all about.

Kokoa said out loud, "Onee-san doesn't need any help. A bullet is nothing to her. So get going already."

Tsukune nodded and said, "I'll be back soon."

He turned and walked away towards Mahora middle school with Ruby trailing after him.

When they were out of sight, Yukari said to Kokoa, "That was really sweet of you Kokoa-san. Letting Tsukune cool off while we take care of Moka-san."

Kokoa blushed and faced the other way while saying in a prideful manner, "It's all his fault anyway. He didn't do a thing to save onee-san so why should I let him get anywhere near her?"

Mizore said to the group, "In any case, we should review what happened in our mission. There are some things I'd like to discuss."

Yukari looked at the sky and said, "Let's get inside the tents first. It looks like it'll rain."

They left the grassy field and walked into the tents.

The clouds overhead seemed to loom ominously.

* * *

Gathered around the small, round table inside the tent complex, Mizore, Yukari, Kokoa, and Hakase sat there discussing what had happened in that mission. Now informed of the details, Hakase was shocked at what had taken place.

Yukari asked, "Hey, how did they spot us in the first place? Did the sniper see us and tip off INTERPOL?"

Mizore replied, "Yes. He placed hidden cameras in the four buildings and used them to monitor us. After getting us on tape, he sent it to INTERPOL who took action by assaulting our locations, allowing him to freely monitor Dante without giving away his position."

Kokoa interrupted, "I don't get it. Why did he put hidden cameras on the four buildings we were in?"

Hakase replied, "It's simple, really. If I were a sniper, were would I hide without losing sight of my target?"

Kokoa answered, "In a place were I can shoot him without really being seen. What does that have to do with the cameras?"

Hakase shook her head knowing that Kokoa didn't catch on. "True a sniper would think that. But those sniping locations happen to be these four buildings you guys were in. In lamen terms, he knew that there was going to be a rescue attempt so he planned ahead and protected his skin by placing hidden cameras on those four sniping positions where you'd look for him. Then using those cameras, he sent the video to INTERPOL who saw your fully armed group and assumed that you were terrorists aiming to rescue or kill Dante."

Yukari replied, "I see. He predicted our plan to attack both the hospital and the four buildings were he was safely hiding in. Knowing that INTERPOL could hinder our progress, he sent the video to them and let them corner us in the buildings we were in so he could shoot down Dante-san as planned desu."

Hakase nodded in acknowledgement. "But it's still amazing. Your enemy is far too intelligent. But… if he was hiding in one of those buildings as you say, wouldn't he get spotted as well? I mean, he could be working with INTERPOL and they just waited for his signal to catch you guys instead of this lone wolf impression I'm getting from all of you. And how is it that none of you spotted him? Furthermore, wouldn't it be easier to guard Dante from within the hospital instead of outside of it?"

Yukari replied, "True. But when you think about it, all he really needed to do was make sure INTERPOL got what they wanted, a witness stained in blood. After that, Dante won't be able to escape human security without hurting them. But that's not all. Take a look at this." she pulled out a set of papers from inside her hat and handed them to Hakase.

She read them and said, "I see. These are the biographies to Sebastian Jenkins personal guards, the **Lancia. **Where did you get these?"

Mizore gave a sad look as she said, "Tsukune printed those last night. One of them explains the sniper's behavior very well."

Hakase sifted through the papers and read out loud the biography of one of the mercenary guards.

"Lancia number 02: Coba. Russian descent, American citizen. Born July 8, 1972.

Graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

He enlisted in the army as technical support for the scout snipers until he was fielded as a scout sniper himself and successfully gained 200 confirmed kills all of which, high priority targets. Shortly after a black op mission, he disappeared from the pages of history but was seen again in INTERPOL's most wanted list for contract assassinations of INTERPOL's agents. He has successfully killed 30 agents at the turn of the new millennium. Currently working as a bodyguard for Sebastian Jenkins."

Hakase paused for a moment and said, "So guarding Dante up close is out of the question thanks to his reputation against INTERPOL. This also solves why INTERPOL and our sniper cannot work together but how is it that none of you saw him? In fact, how do we know it is this guy who attacked you twice?"

Mizore replied, "We don't have concrete evidence. But there were signs of a man's boot prints entering the blue building and leading to the elevator."

Hakase sighed and said, "A truly intelligent foe. INTERPOL has now marked your group in their wanted list making you enemies of humanity. And with no evidence nor eyewitnesses of the actual shooter and other associates, he could be anyone in the world and anywhere in it. But I'm glad you guys are informed of your opponents. Knowing your enemy is already winning half the battle. Now that we have the biographies of the four **Lancia**, we can better prepare ourselves against them. But as you are aware, we still lack crucial evidence to link these past scenarios to Sebastian Jenkins unless we have a living witness who can testify against him."

The mad scientist walked over to the TV in the corner of the room and turned it on. "Anyway, it's getting stuffy in here so let's watch some TV while waiting for Moka's diagnostics."

Luckily, the channel was on CNN, showing a male newscaster seated beside a female one, talking about the breaking news concerning the 'Pizzera Massacre' in Germany.

The male newscaster spoke, "As of this morning, the whereabouts of the main suspect in the massacre is still unknown."

His female counterpart replied, "But we did get an update on the rescue attempt right George?"

George replied, "Yes we did Jenny. Around midnight, we received an anonymous video feed of two teenage girls and two pre-teens, heavily armed, by four buildings around the Kinderheim hospital. One of them was armed with a sniper rifle and set up on one of the rooftops were she could see the hospital in full view."

Jenny said in surprise, "Pre-teens? Are you serious? Can we see that footage again?"

The screen then showed a four way video of Mizore, Yukari, Ruby and Kokoa on their positions in buildings they were in.

This of course, made those watching pale and in wonder who these girls were. But for Yukari, Kokoa, and Mizore, it was jawdropping…literally.

The screen stopped showing the video feed and went back to the newscasters. Jenny commented, "Unbelieveable. I read the report but would've never guessed it until now."

George replied, "That's right Jenny, according to our news crew in Germany, the girl armed with a sniper rifle shot back at INTERPOL before disappearing back into the building and escaping into the streets. Coincidently, INTERPOL agents sent to investigate all four buildings, sighted these four girls run out of the buildings while firing back at the agents."

Jenny replied, "But they weren't the only ones there George. According to some INTERPOL guards inside the hospital, they've sighted another armed teen and an African-American male storm through the 2nd floor. Shortly after the sighting, the main suspect of the massacre escaped. Coincidence perhaps? Or associates sent to rescue the suspect? This is Jenny Berkly from CNN news."

Hakase didn't bother to shut off the TV but faced the shell-shocked people at the table. "You can't walk the streets in broad daylight anymore."

Yukari placed her hands on her cheeks and said, "We've become international fugitives overnight. What do we do?!"

Mizore was at a loss for words. Her logic was perfect…or it seemed to be. _'You've got to be kidding me. He didn't send it to INTERPOL. He sent it to this channel to indirectly tip off INTERPOL. But that's not the worst part. This was a move to completely eliminate Dante's innocence to the public and use the People as his allies against us…' _she bit the nail of her thumb. '_A checkmate using gray pawns.' _

Kokoa snapped, "We'll have to hide and wait. Now that we're wanted fugitives, we have to look over our shoulders more often and keep an eye out for that sniper and anyone who looks at us more than once."

But Mizore had other ideas. "Though possible, it's unlikely for the sniper to be here. However, we need better preparation and more combat knowledge and skills should we face him again. We can also treat all of Sebastian Jenkin's guards to be at least the same level as the sniper."

"But training at a time like this?" Hakase asked them. "Its doubtful you'll have enough time before the mastermind mobilizes his plans." _'Not even Evangeline's resort would give them enough time.'_

Yukari said with thoughtfulness, "Even so, a well trained spirit cannot die from human wounds."

They looked at her, feeling the depth to her words. Their anxiety faltered hearing the little witch's voice. "That mission taught me how hard it is to fight an enemy more experienced than me. Even though I had the power and means to defeat him, he was still able to take me away from the fight. It's unbelievable how easily he brushed us aside and all the more reason we need to train ourselves. We have to shorten the level gap to be able to defeat him."

Hakase sighed is disappointment. She knew that this was as bad as it could get. She had hoped they'd take the easy way out but they made their choice. It wasn't easy to pick but they knew they had to be brave to see this through. They were informed of their tasks and prepared to do something about it.

The mad scientist shook her head. "I can see your determination…very well…since none of you will bend, we have to make everyday count. Evangeline has a means to train you. But first we need to throw a wrench in his plans to buy us the time for training."

She pulled out a map of the city of Romania and spread it wide on the table. "While you were away, I did some research and found out something that we can use against our foes. Romania is under pressure from a splinter faction named **Eizel. **Soon enough, this group will attack Romania's main power supply, cutting off Sebastian Jenkin's research facility as well as half the city. But they need someone to create an opening to the main power supply so that they can commence their plan."

Kokoa spoke frankly. "So we just need to let this faction enter this place."

However, Yukari was abhorrent to the idea. "But that means we'll be helping someone else destroy a city."

"Is this group is highly fanatical?" asked Mizore.

Hakase calmly responded, "They were opposed to the government's regime and Jenkins-san for building his research facility on their homes. They might be a little rough."

Mizore thought about it and said, "Meddling in human affairs isn't any of our concern. Focus on the method of training and defeat Sebastian Jenkins as soon as possible."

Hakase calmly closed her eyes and said, "Don't worry. It's not a hard mission." She opened her eyes and pulled out from her coat, a cutout map. She laid it on the table for them to see. There was a vertical river running north on the left of the map, cutting the no man's land on the left, from the fortress occupying the right side with fences lined up south of it. There was a trench line a few feet south of that, with a few hills and several buildings behind it that were once inhabitable houses of a bustling neighborhood.

"This fortress is the generator that Sebastian Jenkins is using for his research facility in Romania," the mad scientist explained. "He built it in the middle of this residential area, angering the people living there. As you can see it's now a battlefield with urban conflict and close-quarter-battles. The fighting is very intense and chaotic. So intense, that someone can slip in unnoticed over here." she pointed her finger on the left side of the fortress where the fence line ended and the riverbank began. No doubt it was a weakness thanks to the terrain.

Yukari replied, "All of his security will be too focused on the enemy attacking their front leaving a weakly defended gap on this side."

Mizore replied, "But where is the main generator?"

Hakase replied, "I once took a tour there last summer. The generator room is not far from the fence line. It should be here as I recall." She pointed her finger at a circular shaped building inside the fortress, just a few meters away from the fence line.

Hakase pulled out a red pen and marked a circle around the riverbank where the fence line ended and another circle on generator room. She even drew an arrow between them to show where they should go. Once again the mission was very simple but dangerous.

Mizore knew that anything could go wrong at this point. This wasn't something to take chances with but it also was a risk worth taking. _'If this is Sebastian Jenkins main facility, then it's sure to be heavily guarded on its weak side. We won't stand a chance if they have another one of his Lancia guarding this place alongside the heavy patrols.'_

Kokoa suddenly asked, "Wait a minute. This is one of his main facilities right? There is no way that he'd leave this place to be weakly defended because it holds all of the power for his research labs."

Hakase knew that question was to be asked. After all, it IS an important structure. "Not all of the power. Most of it is fueled from the nuclear power plants in Mongolia leaving this place as a secondary power source. And thanks to international laws, he can only hire low-level security to cover that place as compared to the deserts of Mongolia. But the risks are still present so it's up to you on how you want to go about this."

While Hakase let the weight of their crisis fall upon their laps, Kurumu felt her weight give way during her crisis.

* * *

As she followed Dante through the campus grounds, she frowned as her thoughts took a turn for the worse.

The young succubus had enough of getting shot at. It felt like a powerful fist drilled through her skin.

'_I went through worse'_ she thought. _'But Tsukune and Moka would never be the same.'_

On the last hours of night on the plane, she was awakened by the outbursts of Kokoa. She heard things she could easily fix by just telling certain people to shut up and man up. But those thoughts shattered when she heard the conversation of Mizore to Tsukune.

'_I guess everyone has their braking point. Seeing Moka so helpless really broke apart Tsukune.'_

"Hey," Dante said, offhandedly. "Are you by any chance thinking about Tsukune right now?"

She frowned knowing that _was_ what was on her mind. "Yeah."

With a soft voice, she asked him, "Dante, have you ever felt so weak and helpless before?"

The demon hunter replied, "Many times. I've been stabbed by my own sword at least four times already."

Kurumu sweatdropped hearing his nonchalant reply.

"But you know, your friend Tsukune is blaming himself really hard." Dante continued. "Imagine…Mizore-chan got kidnapped and he collapsed instead of rescuing her. She nearly got raped and he wasn't there to save her. Now Akayashi-san took a bullet and he wasn't able to rescue her, let alone take revenge. He swallowed everything inside and gambled on his judgment only to realize how weak he really is. Now I bet you he's going to become a workaholic who wishes to become more competent to protect his friends. That's why he's become so humble and logical all of a sudden."

Kurumu was caught speechless. It was slightly irritating yet profoundly correct. Tsukune has been under a lot of stress. Most especially since Evangeline proved to be right when she said he wasn't strong enough alone and the way he is.

They reached a nearby payphone standing next to a set of outdoor comfort rooms. Dante took the phone, placed a few coins in it and dialed away. As the phone rang, Kurumu asked Dante, "Is there anything I can do to help to return Tsukune to the way he was?"

Dante replied, "Would he really want to after what happened?"

The phone stopped ringing and a woman answered. "Dante, is there something you need me for?"

Dante replied, "C'mon Trish. You know I need you for a lot of things. Right now, I've been thinking, what if we can sabotage the bad guys long enough for the good guys to get strong? From the looks of it, they need to become strong. Each and every one of em."

"I'll see what I can do." Trish said before cutting the line.

Dante returned the handset and faced the younger girl. "Well, the bad guys won't wait up for us so might as well take half of the fight to them. Let's go back and break the news to the rest shall we?"

Kurumu smiled knowing what he had in mind. "You're pretty cool Dante. You bounce back into a fight as soon as your feet have strength."

The silver haired man smirked and said, "Well, it's all in the genes."

The two of them walked back heading to home base hoping they were doing alright. Little did they know that Tsukune and Ruby were having a rather interesting conversation with the dean of Mahora Middle School.

Yes, Tsukune and Ruby had another crisis to take care of in the all girls side of the school.

* * *

Within the halls of Mahora Middle school, Tsukune and Ruby stood outside the dean's office. Its doors were rather large but not cumbersome as shown when Ruby opened it and stepped into the next room.

She bowed politely and said, "Excuse us."

Tsukune stepped in next and saw the dean of Mahora-middle school, seated on his rotating chair. The old man was much shorter than Tsukune but the elongated length of the back of his skull meant he aged…peculiarly. To add to the look, the old man had a grey lock of hair tied in a high ponytail and a long beard and mustache that was reminiscent of Ancient Chinese men. Even more so since the man seem to be wearing only a white robe.

Tsukune bowed politely and said, "Excuse us headmaster."

Konoe chuckled heartily at their hospitable manner. "Ho ho ho. So you must be Tsukune!" He suddenly appeared behind Ruby and lifted her skirt. "And this lovely young lady must be Toujou-san ne?"

Of course, Ruby didn't take his greeting lightly and waved her wand, allowing a large metal pail to fall from out of nowhere and 'greet' the head of the lecherous geezer. "It's nice to meet you too. May I ask, why you needed to see us?"

The old man recovered from the attack to his skull and in a serious manner, walked to his desk. "You and your friends are from Youkai Academy. I haven't heard of that place in a long time. How is the headmaster there?"

Ruby sweatdropped and said, "He's doing well actually." _'But now I'm reminded what will happen if we skip even a single day of school…'_

Tsukune was curious of this old man. He seemed to know Youkai academy's headmaster and from the sound of it, was in good relations with him. But what kind of relationship, he still did not know.

Without hesitation, the old dean faced them and said, "I received a call from your dean just a few minutes ago after news broke out of a terrible scandal that happened in Germany."

Tsukune paled upon hearing that. However, he remained calm and showed no obvious signs of weakness. But the old dean was quick to perceive the situation and said, "He told me that because of what happened in the human world, Tsukune and his friends are on temporary suspension."

Tsukune was in disbelief. "I did not hear that properly. Can you speak clearly?"

The dean cleared his throat and said, "Tsukune and his friends are on temporary suspension."

Shock could only describe what Ruby felt. "We've been…kicked out?"

The old dean replied, "It's nothing that can't be fixed. He also said that he'll remove the suspension once this incident is resolved although, you will end up behind schedule on classes."

Tsukune put his mind to work in deciphering the message. _'This would mean that he's allowing us to continue the missions and redeem ourselves in the process. But with our connections to the school cut off, he has no reason to vouch for us and can be given the order to eliminate us like we were just common thugs.'_

Tsukune decided to take a risk and say, "I'd like to ask one question if that is alright."

The old dean replied, "Is there something on your mind?"

Tsukune replied, "About his message, did it say anything else about the length of the suspension?"

The old dean replied, "Nothing about time was on his message. Is there something you're forgetting?"

Tsukune replied, "Not at all. Thank you."

Ruby asked Tsukune, "What's going to happen to us Tsukune?"

Tsukune faced her and said, "Youkai Academy has abandoned us. The temporary suspension means that he is not obliged to help us in any way now that we have made a scandal in the human world. I'm afraid none of us will be going home anytime soon."

Ruby was devastated. She faced the floor, her heart heavy. The home she had come to love has now abandoned her in a time of crisis.

Tsukune saw her state and his crimson eyes were filled with sadness. He knew it was hard for them. More so now that they've been sunk, knee deep into this situation. He put a hand on Ruby's shoulder and said, "Although on the bright side, we don't have to worry about school for a while. We finally have the freedom to explore the outside world by ourselves."

Ruby lifted her head up and said, "But Tsukune…"

Tsukune smiled and said, "All I'm saying is that, we should look on the brighter side of things now that we can only move forward."

Ruby smiled in defeat knowing that it was taking him all his courage to sound happy. "Well Tsukune, if we are to move forward, you'll need to cheer up as well."

Like a plague of happiness, a smile stuck itself on Konoemon's face after seeing their hearty resolve. _'hehehe. Reminds me of me when I was his age. Always so spunky and a hit with the ladies.' _

The old dean cleared his throat a bit, catching their attention. "Now it's not my place to interfere but this Germany incident could very well reveal more than the existence of youkai."

Ruby got the hint rather quickly. She bowed rather humbly and said, "Forgive us headmaster. I had forgotten that witches still answer to a higher council of mages."

Tsukune was confused. "What are you talking about Ruby-san?"

Ruby faced him and said, "Witches like Yukari-chan and I are accountable to two councils. The three Dark Lords, which our headmaster is a part of and the Magic Association—an association of mages all over the world. As a member of these societies, anything we do reflect upon them."

Tsukune didn't need to think hard to understand its implications. "So you're saying that it's possible for the existence of the magic association to be revealed thanks to the incident. But it hasn't reached the association yet right?"

Ruby shook her head. "I'm afraid it's too late. Konoe Konoemon, the headmaster of Mahora Campus is the head of the Kanto Magic Association."

Hearing those words, Tsukune felt his world spin. It made sense now how this old man knew Youkai Academy's headmaster. But the irony of his words and his ignorance to this old man's identity made his heart skip a beat. "Wha-what?!"

The old dean chuckled. "Well, there's no evidence of magic being used in the incident so all of you are safe for now." upon hearing this, Tsukune was more at ease.

"But…" Konoe continued, "The earlier incidents of Hell Gates reopening has the association a bit shaken up. We've strived hard to keep those gates from unleashing hopelessness on this world. But without proof of who's picking those locks, we might as well cross it out as a cold case."

Ruby knew they were going to be involved again from the sound of things. After all, they are the perfect scapegoats of the time. "Headmaster, with all due respect, what exactly are you suggesting?"

The old dean furrowed his brows in seriousness. It was a tough dilemma. With more than two worlds at risk, an astute decision was more than he needed. What he needed to end the madness was a miracle. "For the sake of the world, do nothing."

"Eh?" both Tsukune and Ruby yelped.

The old dean kept his serious gaze. It was tempting to use them to end the incidents but his old eyes didn't spend time looking at the past. Rather, his eyes were now gazing at their futures.

"I have a granddaughter who went on a trip to England with her classmates and school teacher." The dean said with a hint of nostalgia. "Seeing your group reminds me of her and her class. If I were to send you on a mission with no guarantees, it would be like sending my granddaughter and her friends to their own graves. It's not pleasant to think about or look at." He focused his gaze at Ruby's chest.

Oblivious of his lecherous undertones, Ruby responded, "But we've already gone this far. Three of our friends have gotten hurt and justice must be served before they can continue to harm others. We just can't stand here and do nothing!"

Tsukune placed his arm in front of Ruby, asking her to stop. She wondered why but casting aside her feelings, she let Tsukune take over.

Tsukune had determination written in his cold, sharp gaze. "Headmaster. Thank you for protecting us. We know that it might be suicidal the way we are. But the way things are…" he remembered seeing Moka's dying form that night in Kinderheim. "The world might as well be suicidal when those demons kill those precious to them. Their future rests in my hands so I won't leave them to die for our sake."

The dean was taken aback by Tsukune's resolve. _'I have heard Youkai Academy's headmaster talk of this boy. But now I see why he means that much to him. I wonder what Negi-kun would do if he were to meet this young man.'_

* * *

Back in the Hinamori residence, morning was a serious business. While the Youkai-gumi planned their lives as exiles and fugitives, Amu planned hers as if she was harboring exiles and fugitives. She just had the most 'wonderful' night sleeping beside Ikuto and his Shugo Chara, Yoru. She was in the best shape she could ever be.

Eyebags that could be mistaken for mascara…

bloodshot eyes that enhanced her pupils…

messy pink hair…

aching back…

and a heart that was beating in overdrive…

Yes, Ikuto's unannounced presence in her room, had given her a wonderful night of constantly worrying if her parents would suddenly storm into her room and notice the teen in her bed.

Amu walked down the street feeling sluggish and worn to the point that even her Shugo Charas that flew beside her couldn't lift it with their high spirits. Though she wore a white blouse and red skirt, her feelings were anything but pure and lovely. Her sister had barged in her room ask her to play with her, not noticing the young teen in lying in her bed. Luckily Amu had hidden the young man under the blankets just before Ami's eyes could notice him.

Dismissing the young girl, Amu adjusted the sling on her bag, and went her way to school to meet up with the Guardians.

She paced to school with heavy feelings of stress. _'What was he thinking sleeping in the same bed as me? It caused a lot of trouble even now.'_

She adjusted the sling once more, feeling the weight of the gun inside her bag. After what transpired three days before, she didn't take any chances and prepared for anything. After all, there were monsters out to destroy the world and she still had a debt to pay though she did receive ¥20,000 as compensation for her first job as a career demon slayer.

Reaching the school, her Shugo Charas shouted, "Finally! Back to school!"

Amu huffed, "I never thought that school can be so relaxing. A normal life seems so much better after all."

* * *

Classes breezed through the day and Amu found so many surprising things. For one, she was able to better understand her lessons now that she was more alert thanks to the battles she fought. Another thing was that she was more aware of her surroundings like being able to hear a teacher's pen drop across the crowded hallways. Even more surprising, in PE, her body moved more fluidly through the obstacle course than most students.

Art class however was a different matter all together. She and her class were told to go to the school grounds and draw a picture of their surroundings.

"Look at my drawing!" one girl yelled.

"Eh…It sucks." Said a boy who looked at it.

"Maybe it needs more color." Another girl said to her friend seated beside her.

Amu hated the fact she wasn't good in art. She could barely draw a tree and bushes if it weren't for Miki's help. However today was especially difficult since the other students had used almost all of the landscape for them to draw.

"Ahh…I'm still not good here." the pink-haired girl said as she inspected her poorly drawn art of an orange, striped cat sitting on a bench.

Su suddenly asked Amu, "Amu-chan, what are you going to do with the remaining ¥15,000?"

Amu replied, "I'll keep it safe at home. I still need to pay my debt." _'But how will I pay off _$80,000? _Is that bigger than Yen? I don't understand any of this. Demons are trying to take over and destroy the world. Riiko and I still have a debt to pay and Night has to be protected or else they'll use him to open the gate to the demonic dimension.'_

Amu finished her drawing and saw that it was good enough. She looked at the cat and said, "Thank you for waiting. neko-chan." She picked up her drawing and showed the animal, a rather childish but accurate drawing of the cat sitting on the bench. The cat in question meowed and walked away.

Amu smiled and said, "At least it liked it."

Ran asked her, "How can you tell Amu-chan?"

Amu replied, "It purred and gazed at it the whole time. Even though my drawing was rather poor, he thought about my feelings and saw how it shined through the artwork."

Her eyes softened into knowing confidence once more. _'True Beauty is something that connects your heart to the artist's soul. Neither need speak about it, for it is a wordless truth about one life to another.'_

Miki noticed her gaze and was inwardly shocked at what was taking place. _'Ever since Dante and Trish came into our lives, Amu-chan has been changing. This is the second time she's turning into this type of person. At this rate, Amu-chan will become a completely different person.'_

Amu looked at Miki and knew what was on her mind. "These changes are getting more frequent. You just thought that didn't you?"

Miki was shocked at what Amu had said. "E-eh? Ho-how did you…"

Amu kept her cool knowing what her next words would imply. "Lately, I find myself noticing a new paradigm and with it new discoveries. 'Could it be a sickness?' I wondered at first. But I kept this mindset for a while to see what else came with it and noticed how much better my life was becoming. I'm not saying it is a perfect mindset. But maybe, it is that first leap of faith into a world closer to my would-be self."

Su smiled and said, "Amu-chan…you're growing up again."

Amu made a confident smile. "Of course. I'm the best!"

Suddenly a soccer ball hit Amu, squarely in the face. The poor girl fell back, causing her Shugo Charas to panic until Yaya came in the picture with a few boys and Nagihiko. "I'm sorry Amu-chan! I kicked the ball too hard." Yaya replied.

Amu got up with her face in comical anger. "Isn't the soccer field all the way there?!!!"

Nagihiko sweatdropped at her irritation. "We're really sorry Amu-chan. It won't happen again. Right, Yaya?"

Yaya rubbed the back of her head and said, "Hehehe. I'll aim the 'Yaya-super-shot' closer to the goal next time."

With that, Yaya and Nagihiko ran back to the field with soccer ball in hand, and the rest of the soccer team following close by.

Amu crossed her arms and sighed. "Oh whatever, let's pass in the drawing. It's the last spurt till the end of school." She said, her persona returning to normal.

With drawing in hand, she walked towards the main school doors until she felt a cold chill behind her. She whipped around and saw Trish waiting outside the Seiyo Academy.

The woman was clad in black from Tube, to pants to boots. The only thing different was her brown jacket to hide her white skin. She smiled slightly seeing Amu's honed instincts.

Amu however, wasn't pleased. In fact, the veins throbbing on her head showed exactly how she felt.

"Hinamori-san." A familiar voice said behind her.

Amu turned around and saw it was Tadase. She blushed as she stuttered, "Ta-Tadase-kun! What is it?"

Keeping his genuine smile, he replied, "Are you going to the meeting this afternoon?"

Amu was curious by his choice of words. "Of course I'm going. Wait, why are you asking me all of a sudden?"

"Well, it's just that your parents called the school awhile ago. They said it was an emergency and you needed to be home right away. Didn't Yaya tell you?"

Amu wondered what it could be until she remembered that Ikuto was still at her house. She paled and had spirals for eyes. "Thank you for telling me!!! I'll see you later Tadase-kun!"

She ran like the wind, outside the school, past Trish, and towards her house.

'_Did we get caught?!!!'_ was her panicked thoughts as she sprinted towards the neighborhood. What she didn't realize though, was that she was running at least 40km/h.

But as she saw her house come into view, a strong hand pulled her on the back of the collar, causing her to choke until physics forced her to drop to the floor.

Standing above her was Trish. The blonde woman looked down at the pink haired girl. "Moving that fast is very dangerous."

Amu stood up and faced Trish with sharpened teeth and eyes, "Like yanking someone's collar is any different!"

Trish huffed and said, "Amu, have you seen Riiko and Night? I called their phones but no one answered."

Amu was still mad at her and wanted nothing more than to choke her as well. "I haven't seen them lately. If you'll excuse me, I have to attend a family emergency."

Trish replied, "Oh, I made that call Amu. It was the only way I could get your attention."

Amu gave her a smile. "Oh, I understand." She suddenly pulled out her Nagant revolver and angrily aimed it at Trish. "Like hell I do! Get a life!"

Trish didn't flinch. Instead, she laughed. "Hahaha. Amu-chan, you're really cute. I guess that's why that young boy takes a liking to you."

Amu blushed bright red. "Ta-Tadase and I…"

"Don't have anything to do with this?" The blonde woman finished. "As long as you keep it a secret, no one else will get involved. Let's go Amu-chan, we have work to do."

Amu sighed as Trish turned around and walked away. The pink haired girl looked back at her house. _'At least I know nothing went wrong. Ikuto…I wonder if he'll be alright.'_

She turned her gaze to Trish's back and walked towards her. The older woman hopped on a parked, red motorcycle and revved it up. Amu hoped on the back seat and asked, "Where are we going?"

Trish replied, "To Mahora Academy."

They drove off towards Mahora Academy, ready to take another mission.

* * *

When they reached Mahora Campus, everything was quiet. Trish passed the bride and parked the bike in one of the parking lots where a familiar Nissan Crew was.

Trish and Amu got off the bike and noticed it was Riiko's car.

The blonde woman's eyebrow rose. "So this is where Riiko and Night have been."

Amu looked around hoping Riiko and Night were nearby.

"Oh, you're here Amu-chan." Riiko said from behind the pink haired girl.

Amu turned around and saw both Riiko and Night walking towards them. "Hi, Riiko-san."

"Hello." Night replied as he stopped in front of the pink-haired girl. "So we have another mission again?"

Trish faced the group and said, "Yes. Dante called us up on this mission. But this time it will be a covert operation or 'covert op' as the military call it." She inspected Riiko's posture looking for any signs of hesitation yet she found none. "I'm surprised Riiko. You've killed quite a lot of demons yet you haven't thrown up even once."

Riiko sweatdropped and dropped slightly. "That's not really true. Just last night I puked quite a lot." _'After suddenly puking out at dinner in his house, Soushi must have thought I hated the food he prepared for me. I have to apologize to him after this.'_

Riiko asked Trish, "I always wondered Trish, who is it exactly that we're fighting?"

Trish kept her calm. "Riiko, about that, it will sound crazy but it's a politician from your world."

Riiko frowned and said, "So cliché…"

Trish smirked and said, "A familiar evil is an experienced evil. This politician goes by the name, Sebastian Jenkins. He was once a scientist that worked for a madman and now he's trying to rebuild his master's plan of unleashing the demons from the Hell Gate to our world."

Night nodded in understanding, the idea settling in his mind. "Trish, wouldn't it be easier to stop this man instead?"

Trish knew that was the most practical answer. "Things are never that simple. Two countries support him for giving them a power supply. But who knows what that man is using it for. That and the demon I fought against in China knew the man."

Amu didn't understand the big concepts that Trish talked about. But she did understand that the demons in China knew this Sebastian Jenkins so he has some sort of connection to them. "Trish-san, what are you trying to say?"

Trish softened her gaze knowing Amu was but a child. "Amu-chan, this man Sebastian Jenkins is a very sneaky and evil man. He was once the student of a man who did a similar plan to destroy the world. And because he's following his master's footsteps, it is likely he believes his master was doing the right thing. So we have to stop him before it's too late for even us."

Amu thought about what Trish was saying and it finally added up in her mind.

"We won't be alone on this one." Trish said to them, snapping them to attention. "There will be a second team joining us on this mission so try to work with them."

Riiko replied, "A second team? What kind of team?"

"A team of Teenagers like you I'm afraid." Said another familiar voice. The small group looked to where the voice came from and saw that it was Dante.

The demon slayer walked to them, his coat still filled with bullet holes from the last battle. "Good to see all of you are okay. Hope we can keep it that way even after we go through party after party in this wild ride."

Trish shook her head and sighed as she walked passed him.

"What? No welcome hug? Fine…fine…" the silver haired man followed her with Riiko, Night and Amu trailing him.

* * *

Dante led the group to the base behind Mahora Campus. The tents were still up and the digital map still running.

Riiko, Amu and Night marveled seeing the electronic map.

"SUGOI!!! SO THIS IS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY!!!" Riiko exclaimed with wide-eyed wonder.

Amu agreed. The map was beyond anything she's ever seen on TV. It was something straight out of a manga.

Night looked at the map and was also wide eyed in amazement. He ran and stood on top of the map. Placing his hands on his hip he replied, "Look Riiko! I'm on top of the world!"

Riiko laughed, the humor too much to take.

Trish shook her head and said, "You also happen to be the key to its destruction."

After that brief set of jokes, they entered the tent. Inside, they saw the Youkai-gumi, excluding Moka, including Hakase, seated around a small round table with two sets of maps on top of it.

Dante spoke up first, "So, since everybody is here…what's the game plan?"

Tsukune spoke up first, "Actually, we were about to ask you." He looked at the additional people with him and said, "Hello everyone. I'm Aono Tsukune by the way."

Riiko gazed at him with wide-eyed surprise. He was average in looks, but his cold, crimson eyes, his lighter skin tone, well built body, and his manner of conduct was very much like that of Night.

She all of a sudden said in a shaky manner, "I-I'm Riiko! Nice to meet you too."

Night smiled at Tsukune and said, "I'm Night. I'm her boyfriend."

Riiko squarely slapped him on the back, her face flushed scarlet. "Why are you telling everyone?!"

Night had a questioning look on his face. "What did I do wrong? I just told the truth."

Amu sweatdropped seeing the lover's quarrel. But as she inspected the group of teenagers from Youkai Academy, she noticed how beautiful the girls were. _'They're all beautiful….Where did they come from?'_

Kurumu, being the most friendly, said, "Hi there! I'm Korono Kurumu. The lollipop eater is Mizore, the glasses girl is Hakase, the girl with a weird corset is Ruby, the carrot top is Kokoa and the little witch girl is Yukari."

Yukari was curious of the Seiyo Elementary Academy student. How did she get involved in all this? "Hi. I'm Sendou Yukari. What grade are you in?"

Amu blinked. Was she talking to her? "I'm in fifth grade. I'm Hinamori Amu."

The rest of the Youkai group gaped at the realization. She wasn't even in high school yet she was involved in something bigger than she could imagine.

Yukari stood up and went to Amu, her bright persona, shining through. "I'm glad you're with us Amu-chan. We're all facing the same things now."

Yukari, Amu, Riiko, Night, Trish and Dante sat around the table as the discussion began.

Hakase began, "Thanks to our successful attacks on the Hell Gates, we've managed to halt Sebastian Jenkins' assault on the world. But, as you all know, Tsukune and his friends, along with Dante, are now framed as international fugitives."

Trish suddenly asked, "Wait a minute. Dante and Tsukune's group? How?"

Hakase forgot that not everyone knew the incident. She explained the Germany incident to them and how the sniper cornered them with his brilliant tactics. Not only were Riiko's company amazed, but it stuck hard how serious the situation really was.

Hakase paused for a while, letting the current situation settle in.

"This is impossible." Amu frowned heavily. "How did these things happen in the first place? It's just a joke right?"

Yukari replied, "It's all true Amu-chan. Our friend is badly hurt because of that incident. That's why we have to get stronger than them or another person will get hurt and by then we can't stop them."

Hakase nodded and said, "We've all agreed that we are going to train hard to defeat Sebastian Jenkins."

Trish faced her silver haired associate. "Oh. Is why you called up Dante?"

Dante nodded. "Pretty much. These guys are out for blood already."

Mizore spoke up. "But to train needs time. Something we don't have right now. So we will sabotage the enemy's plan before it gets off the ground."

Tsukune took this as his cue and said, "There's a facility in Romania were we suspect Sebastian Jenkins is manually opening a Hell Gate like the ones in Germany, China and the United States. This facility is facing constant uprising from the locals. It's the perfect place to strike. With most of its security engaging the rebellion, we can slip in its defenses using the river and enter the facility. Once there, we take down it's main generator and create an opening for the rebels to take over."

Night asked, "How sure are you that this will work? I don't understand a lot but, wouldn't he have a backup generator and just continue his work?"

Ruby replied, "We've considered that but it turns out that Romania is his biggest supporter and he forced his hand in making it true. If it so happens that the city loses its main source of power namely his facility, the issue of illegally building over a city will surface and he will be questioned on matters that will occupy him the most."

"Thus the time we need to train." Dante said offhandedly.

Riiko nodded in consent. It wasn't full proof but it was what they needed. "This is a good plan. Let's get to it right away."

Hakase nodded as well, knowing full well that things were looking up. "I'll leave the tactical planning to you guys. But I do have something everyone of you should have." She pulls out a small bag from under the table and pours out the contents for them to see.

They were black chokers with **'voce'** engraved on it.

"What are these?" Yukari asked.

Hakase proudly replied, "They're telepathic communication devices. By wearing these, you can mentally talk to each other."

Riiko went wide-eyed in amazement and tried it on. Everyone else took one and wore it.

'_So can anyone hear me?' _Riiko thought out loud.

'_Yeah, we can. This is amazing.' _Mizore thought back.

Yukari exclaimed, "This is so cool! How did you make this!" stars filled her eyes as she looked to Hakase for answers.

Hakase calmly explained, "Well, it's a derivative of the pactio that mages have with their partners. I managed to apply a more scientific approach and create this."

Riiko curiously asked, "Mages? Like girls with wands who cast spells?"

Hakase answered, "Yes. That kind of thing. Although the term is more applicable to men as much as women."

Mizore replied, "Magic sure is powerful. It's getting interesting."

Yukari proudly smiled knowing that witches are getting prestige because of what they wield.

Amu was just amazed at this bright new invention. She looked at everyone else's chokers and noticed the word engraved on each of them. "Hakase-san, what's this word engraved on it?"

The mad genius answered, "The word is Italian for 'voice' or onsei. In simple terms, it is what allows your thoughts to connect telepathically."

Yukari piped up, "Like a magical incantation. You're awesome Hakase-san."

Night however wasn't as ecstatic. "I can't hear anyone's thoughts is mine broken?"

Hakase was curious about that but both Dante and Trish already knew the answer. Before Hakase could say anything else, Dante cut in, "Well, off to Romania. Looks like you'll have to stick to radios partner."

Kokoa suddenly interrupted, "What about onee-san? Who's going to stay with her?"

Tsukune replied, "Moka-san won't be coming on this one."

The Youkai group looked at him as if he had gone mad. But they quickly understood why he needed to make that decision.

However, Amu didn't. "You're going to leave your friend behind?"

Tsukune nodded and said, "Moka is in no condition to fight. If she joined us, she'd slow us down and everyone would be affected. I'm sure she wouldn't want that."

Ruby was horrified by what Tsukune had said. "Tsukune…I think it is you who is in no condition to fight. You are the most affected by this."

Mizore retorted, "So what should we do? Drag her with us?"

Dante cut in once more, "I know it's a tough one but she needs to stay. Honestly, we can't afford to lose on this one."

Ruby didn't want to accept the reasoning but it had to be done. Kokoa wanted revenge for her sister but couldn't just leave her to die.

Hakase suddenly said, "Relax everyone. Moka-san is stable already. A night of rest and she'll be fine. Besides, that's why I'm staying behind to monitor her progress. Just make sure to accomplish your mission and come back alive okay?"

Night understood this much and said, "We'll do that."

"The plane is waiting for us so let's get on while there's still sunlight." Trish replied before standing up."

The rest of the group excluding Hakase stood up and walked out of the tent and towards Mahora Harbor.

Seeing an empty tent, Hakase stood up and moved to the infirmary of the tent to see a saddened Moka sitting on the bed.

Moka shed a tear and said, "I don't know. I just don't understand him anymore. Why is he pushing me away? Why doesn't he talk to me? I tried my best Hakase. I really did."

Hakase wrapped her arms around her and said, "Tsukune isn't pushing you away. He just feels guilty that he let you get hurt like that. He doesn't want you to die."

Moka leaned her head on the other girl's chest, her tears staining Hakase's lab gown.

The pink haired girl cried her eyes out, feeling the weight on her chest. _'Tsukune…don't you love me anymore…I just don't know….I know I'm weak and can't do much in battle…but please…come back to me…'_

Moka faced Hakase with her tear stained eyes full of fear. "What should I do Hakase? I don't want Tsukune to turn into a stranger. If things go on like this…"

"What are crying about?" Evangeline said as she entered the infirmary.

Moka and Hakase looked to see Evangeline standing there, her face in a scowl.

Moka in panic said, "Evangeline-san….I-"

"You've already lost him." She spouted, her words like ice. "You can't expect him to protect you all the time. It's impossible."

Moka shuddered hearing her hard words. But Evangeline continued. "Like Tsukune you suffer the same illness. The sword or your friends…what choice will you make?"

Moka complained, "That's not a choice at all!!!"

Evangeline smiled. "Only if you allow it to choose you. To protect your friends you must become a sword. But at the same time you risk losing them."

Moka glared at Evangeline. Older or not, this vampire was pushing some facts that Moka didn't want to see. The pink haired girl asked back, "Why do you keep pushing that paradox? Isn't it enough to stand side by side with the one you love? I don't need to become a sword to protect everyone. I don't need to lose anyone just to gain strength. THERE IS A BETTER WAY!!!"

Evangeline laughed hard and long. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Moka didn't understand why she was laughing. Neither did Hakase. Both thought she had gone mad.

Evangeline stopped laughing and said, "You sound just like the boya. You could say you're his female counterpart." But she crossed her arms and made a calculating gaze. "Just like him, you're so naïve. You tell me you love Tsukune yet don't have the courage to tell him nor understand what he's going through. If you walked in his shoes even once, then you'll know why he's willing to become a demon to keep you safe."

Moka was shell-shocked by her cold words. She frowned.

The alpha vampire's eyebrow rose. "Ara? It shouldn't have passed you that he's losing his human side faster than expected. Thanks to that incident, his emotional stability shifts so wildly that his control over the vampire blood begins to fluctuate. Very soon, he'll become a full-fledged ghoul or vampire."

Moka kept frowning as she thought, _'No…Tsukune has already lost his human side. I didn't want to see it but, when we were on the plane, I felt the presence of three vampires instead of two. And just a while ago, I felt his youki suddenly increase to a stable level despite the lock on his right wrist. The way his eyes remain red and slitted, the skin tone his body is adapting, his muscles that have increased ten folds, every part of his body is shaping into that of a vampire. Soon enough, he'll produce a natural pheromone that will attract humans to him. Soon enough, I'll completely lose him.'_

The pink haired girl felt the sadness sink in. Was she really so naïve? Was she really selfish? It didn't seem that way at all to Hakase.

Hakase faced Evangeline wondering what she was getting at. "Eva-chan, I don't think Moka is being selfish at all. It's difficult to answer someone's feelings, but to expect her to walk in his shoes is something else."

Evangeline replied, "It's not about that. It's about her lack of courage to do all for the sake of love. By staying silent, you've let him do as he pleases and become whatever he wants. You've become unequally yoked to him and it's choked the both of you. If you can't change for his sake nor correct him, then you do not love him at all."

Moka could not believe her ears. "I'm sorry…" she sobbed as she broke down again in bitter realization. "It's just that I don't know if I can walk with the new Tsukune. I'm scared. But I still love him. I still want to do whatever it takes to be with him. Even if it means becoming a demon myself."

Evangeline replied, "Now you understand. Now you are growing and learning. Now you can make him listen."

Moka asked her, "But what if he doesn't want to listen to me?"

Evangeline smiled and said, "There was once a story I heard from a classmate of mine about a girl who found herself friends with someone as broken as Tsukune. This girl didn't understand the other girl's sadness, but she quickly realized that the only way for that girl to listen to her, was for her to stand at the other girl's level. 'It's fine that I'm a demon….and with my hellish weapons I will make you listen.' Was her quote. It didn't matter if she or the other girl broke. Because she knew this was the only way to wake the other person up. That in itself is a painful form of love. But a necessary one."

Hakase chuckled and said, "Ahh, the one Mana-san has been telling you. It sounds too much like an anime to be real what with magic a thousand times stronger than **Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens."**

"Perhaps." Evangeline added. "But Outer Space isn't thanks to Chao. So it's still a debate if this 'White Devil' person did exist here on earth let alone migrate to a planet in space."

Hakase nodded. "Yes. I'm sure. But you know, from Mana's story, the 'White Devil' reminds me of Negi-sensei. Always fighting hard for his students and his dream. Too bad he's in Mundus Magicus right now with them. Oh I know! I can look up information on the 'White Devil' to see if she exists."

Evangeline replied, "Don't push your luck. It'd be better if you can find something for Akayashi-san to do."

"Eh?" Moka responded.

Hakase replied, "I know it's short notice Moka, but we're trying to train the team to better stand up against the enemy so they left to sabotage them."

Moka replied, "I already heard. Where is this going?"

Hakase scratched her head in embarrassment. "Now that you're well, I'd like you to go book hunting for me in Library Island. I'd get it myself if I had half your strength."

Moka sighed and said, "What do you need me to get?"

Hakase smiled hearing her answer. "Actually they're books on magic. Basic to intermediate. In order to better tackle the enemy, we need more magical knowledge to protect ourselves and gain an offensive advantage. You can learn magic too if you try hard enough."

Moka thought about it. _'I've never thought about using magic before. But it sounds like a good idea.' _She smiled and said, "I'll try it out."

Evangeline smirked and said, "We'll see."

* * *

Moka stood in front of the entrance to Library Island. Entering its doors, she marveled at the infrastructure that could only be described a fantasy turned reality. Several walkways filled the furthest ends of the halllway with waterfalls flowing downward over several bookshelves. In fact, there were trees growing into a mini park with bookshelves standing here and there.

"This is Library Island?" Moka asked out loud.

Her earpiece radioed in, "That's right Moka."

Moka listened intently as Hakase monitored her from a computer within the tents. She clicked a button and said over a mini microphone, "Library Island was built by several mages of the magic association for the sake of the public. There are many referential books but in the deepest parts of Library Island lay the magical ones. Only a few members of the Library Exploration Club know where they are but venturing in without training would be dangerous."

Moka awed at what Hakase said. She smiled brightly seeing this wonderful new place. "This is a beautiful place to visit. There must be thousands of books here!"

She walked onward through one of the walkways as a flying metal sphere with a camera lens in the center followed closely behind.

The pink haired girl stopped at an intersection where the left path led to an elaborate maze of bookshelves stuck to a wall while the right path led to a small park with books and a rest area complete with vending machine.

Hakase instructed, "The first of the five books are located on the wallshelves. Take the left path and you'll find it."

Moka took the left path and walked until she reached the wall. On the wall, there was a jutting walkway to the right and a bookshelf that extruded from the wall on the other side. But to get there she would have to cross the 12-meter long gap in between.

Hakase instructed, "The first book is there. It's a thick red one so it's not hard to miss."

Moka saw the gap in between the walkway and the wallshelf and how far down she'd fall if she failed jumping. "I can't jump that far. Is there another angle I can use?"

Hakase replied, "Not this time. Unless you know how to fly, that's the only way across."

Moka asked, "It's impossible. How will I get there?"

Evangeline suddenly blurted on the earpiece, "That's where you fail. There's more than one way to cross that place. What are the elements you can use to get there?"

Moka looked at the shelf and thought about throwing a rope across to get to the otherside. _'But I didn't bring one with me. I never expected Library Island to be like this. For now, I'll have to find a way across. There should be something that can get me across.'_

Using the drone as her eyes, Hakase noticed the pattern and was about to open the channel to the other girl's earpiece. But Evangeline stopped her hand and said, "If you tell her, she'll never learn."

Hakase sighed, "But now that I look at it Moka-san has never been forced into thinking in such patterns. Seeing the halfway point seems to be her expertise as compared to thinking like Chao-san."

Evangeline replied, "But that would limit her to only that level. Let her make her mistakes and gain what she needs to surpass those limits."

* * *

Moka suddenly nodded to herself and said, "This should work."

She turned around and walked back a little to give her some running distance. Stopping, she turned back to face her destination. Taking a deep breath, she bolted forward and upon reaching the end of the walkway, she suddenly jumped close to the wall, and ran on it, pushing herself forward. She ran about 11 and a half meters until gravity started pulling her down. Feeling her legs sliding slightly, she jumped off the wall and landed on top of the wallshelf.

'_I made it!'_

But she was too close to the edge of the bookshelf that she slipped. Luckily her instincts were honed enough that she held onto the top edge of the wallshelf, her body close to the spines of the books.

The drone flew in close to Moka and Hakase said on her earpiece, "Are you alright?"

Moka replied, "Yeah, I barely made it." she felt her heart beating wildly but she was glad she hasn't fallen yet.

Hakase instructed her, "Now that you're in a good position, place your feet on the bookshelf to keep you steady."

Moka did as she was told despite her fears. Using her legs, she pushed herself outward slightly, to take a look at the books in front of her. Lo and behold, the red book was in the center. Moka reached in with her right hand and pulled the book out carefully before tossing it on top of the wallshelf. She pulled herself up and leaned on the wall, the red book beside her.

Moka said to herself, "This is harder than it looks." _'Don't worry Tsukune. I'll get stronger so that you can look at me again.'_

Moka knelt and took the book in her right hand. The drone that followed her suddenly flew in front of her. Two flaps opened at the side and a pair of, metal arms with metal hands came out and grabbed the book.

Moka suddenly yelled, "If you could do that, why did you make me do something this dangerous!!"

Evangeline replied via earpiece. "It's no fun if Hakase sent her machines to do it."

Moka yelled back, "It's not fun for me!" veins throbbed on her head as she shivered in anger.

Hakase took over on the earpiece. "Moka-san, it's just a straight line from here. I'll place beacons on where the books are located. All the books are thick and color coded so you can't miss them." The drone flew by into the darkness leaving Moka to herself.

Moka crossed her arms in contempt before letting it off and looking at the next wallshelf about 20 meters away. On the wall about 11 meters away from her position, there was a pole with a short chain hanging down, positioned just 1 and a half feet above her maximum height should she be able to jump there. Across that obstacle about 8 meters away was another pole on the wall leaving a 1meter gap between that pole and the wallshelf.

Moka looked at the obstacle course and thought, _'I see the pattern. From here, I must wall run towards that chain and from there, swing towards the next pole and land on the wallshelf.'_

Gritting her teeth, she ran on the wall until she reached the chain. Quickly grabbing it with her left hand, she stopped her wall run and swung forward on the chain before letting go and letting momentum push her towards the next pole that she grabbed with two hands and swung forward, allowing her to close the gap and land on the next wallshelf. Luckily, this wallshelf had a walkway this time allowing Moka to be relieved.

The pink haired girl followed the walkway towards a large, circular jutting rest point with bookshelves around a small, stepped turnabout lever.

Moka said to herself, "This place is one big puzzle room. But now I'm starting to understand why I have to do this. They're trying to teach me how to think outside the box and believe that I can do it." _'Even if it's not perfect, at least they're putting in effort.'_

Moka looked around and couldn't find another place to walk through. It seemed to be a dead end. She went to the lever and said, "Maybe if I move this, it'll take me to the next place." She pushed the lever counterclockwise, allowing the platform to steadily drop into the darkness until it entered a circular hole in an enclosed, stone hallway. When the platform reached the floor, Moka looked forward and saw that she was in a well-lit, stone hallway. She moved forward through it until she reached the end of the hallway where a 15 feet long, gaping hole into the darkness, separated her from the next end of the hallway. She looked to the right and left but saw, electrically charged spikes on both sides.

"I wonder how I'll get through this one." She asked herself. She looked above and noticed a medium sized stalagtite she could jump to. She jumped as high as she could and grabbed on to a small crack on the stalagtite while placing her feet on the stalagtite in a cat leap position.

'_Now I just have to face the other way.' _

She shifted her body and moved to the other side of the stalagtite, her back facing the direction of the next hallway.

Taking a leap of faith, she kicked off the wall and in mid-air, twisted her body to face forward. Falling through the air, her momentum took her forward. However she was falling a bit too short this time.

'_Shit! I won't make it!' _"WAAAHH!!!"

A voice from her rosario suddenly spoke. **"Grab the ledge!"**

Moka didn't hesitate and managed to grab the ledge in a cat leap position. She quickly pulled herself up and over and sat on all fours. "I nearly died." _'If it wasn't for Inner Moka, I would've died.'_

She took a look at her rosario and said, "Thank you, Inner Me. But how did you know that I should grab the ledge? Were you watching this whole time?"

Inner Moka spoke. **The moment we entered this place. There's something different here. Almost magical. As for the ledge, I simply applied what Hakase taught us. It must be for these reasons that that method of grabbing and holding on was necessary.**

Moka answered, "Oh. So that's what it was. I've been applying it without knowing it's exact purpose." She stuck her tongue out cutely.

Moka stood up and dusted her knees. She looked in front and saw it was a dead end. Looking left, she saw the next path. There was a 22-meter long gaping hole between her and a long, hanging zip line that seemed to move forward and bend left to the next corner.

**There is our destination Omote. (outer)**

Moka noticed that this one was tricky. At the left wall, there was an 11-meter strip of electric spikes and opposite that was an 11-meter empty space. After that, the position was reversed with the 11-meter spikes on the right and the 11-meter empty space on the left. About 1 foot ahead of that wall was some sort of springboard that could be used to kick off and grab the zip line handle, hanging from the ceiling.

Moka said to herself, "That zip line might be the only way through. But there are definitely surprises on the next corner. We're literally making a leap of faith."

Moka mustered her courage and ran to the right of the wall, making a wall run through that 11-meter space. With proper timing, she leaped off it and shifted her weight, landing her legs on the next 11-meter space to the left and making another wall run until she made it to the spring board where she kicked off it and grabbed the zip line handle. Her weight shifted the line forward, causing her to zip forward and then left.

**It was a trap after all. **Inner Moka said, seeing the 30-meter long gaping hole to the actual landing point.

Moka looked forward and noticed that the zip line ran closer to the right side of the wall but ended in a few feet, leaving an 11-meter empty space in the wall till a large 2-meter wall extrusion halted progress but created a corner at the beginning of the extrusion. However at the end of it was a large ring that could be used to move around to the other side to the next corner where there was a springboard. It probably could be used to leap to a long chain hanging from the ceiling to get to the next hanging chain 19 meters away. Of course, that last chain allowed you to swing to the landing point.

Moka could barely see how she was going to get there. But she made a decision and decided to get through with guts. As the zip line carried her to the end, she lifted up her legs and when the zip line ended, in one motion, she let go and ran on the 11-meter empty wall. Seeing the large 2-meter wall extrusion, she braced herself.

**What are you doing? How will you get around?**

'_Please trust me. There's some way around this.'_

Without stopping she, kicked off the wall and continued the wall run on the 2-meter extrusion. Quickly, she grabbed the ring at the end and swung herself to the other side where she continued the wall run and kicked off it to the springboard. Kicking off the springboard, she flew through the air and grabbed the chain. Swinging herself forward, she didn't realize that the hanging chain was attached to a moving platform. It moved the chain and her forward about 10 meters till it stopped and she swung forward to the next chain. From there she swung forward and landed on the landing point.

Moka said in mild shock, "We made it."

Inner Moka was just as shocked as well. **I had never imagined something so crazy before. But it worked.**

But the floor was a false one. It suddenly gave way, causing Moka to fall in a small hole all the way down.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" she yelled as she fell down.

'_Is this how I'm going to die? Tsukune…save me…'_

Moka saw her life flash before her eyes. All of the good times and the bad. Including her most life threatening ones.

'_Ahh, now I remember. I tried to save Dante-san but wound up saved by him.' _

She remembered how it felt getting shot at, the bullet piercing her chest.

'_It really hurt more than anything else…but not as much seeing his face so sad.'_

She remembered how Tsukune reacted seeing her shot. He cried and panicked, his face aghast. She also remembered seeing Kurumu getting shot down after her fit of rage. But what pained her the most were Tsukune's cold words that afternoon. He was leaving her because she wasn't strong enough.

'_What must I do to become strong enough…what does it mean to be equally yoked…'_

She fell harder and harder until suddenly light shined her surroundings and she fell straight into water.

Electricity flowed all over her body, the water, eating away her skin. Moka jumped out of the water and landed on a nearby shore filled with shelves full of books.

Gasping for her life, she quickly took off her wet clothes, leaving only her underwear to cover up. She looked for a nearby shade and crawled, her strength completely sapped.

She managed to see a small Gazebo next to a small house. She crawled as fast as she could to the Gazebo, the numbing pain still lingering. She hid in the Gazebo's shade, her eyes dilated by the sudden events. One minute she was moving around a puzzle room, the next she was falling into her greatest weakness.

Moka held her body as her breathing became shallower. Even her inner self was worried now.

**Omote! Are you alright?!**

"I'm doing fine. Don't worry, this will fade away soon…(cough)"

**Don't give me that. You've swallowed the water.**

Moka shook her head and said, "It's nothing…really."

In a few minutes the water dried up, Moka's strength with it. "I can feel it. Most of my strength has been sapped and right now, I'm as strong as a normal human being." _'This place was made to destroy me. There's water almost everywhere, the place is extremely lighted and there's no way out. I have to get out of here and get those books.'_

**Omote, we've just recovered from a fatal wound. Moving in our tired state would be dangerous. Why are you pushing so hard?**

"Because I want to protect Tsukune."

Moka had a solemn look to her, her face in sad realization of the truth. "This state I'm in is what Tsukune felt like when he was still human."

Inner Moka finally realized what Outer Moka had learned.

"In the end, we always protected him. We always fought in our strengths and not in our weaknesses. Until now, I've never understood why Tsukune wanted to become stronger."

Inner Moka listened intently knowing what Outer Moka was getting at.

"But now, I think I finally understand. Not being able to do a thing but watch as that person walks further away. This is what he felt when he was in this state. So he decided to become stronger. He wants to be able to stand side by side with me so that both of us can walk through anything together."

Moka stood up as she looked at the beautiful scenery in front of her. "To be equally yoked by sacrificing a part of him, Maybe I should do the same as well so that we can both fill the other's half and become a complete whole."

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the room.

"Wha-what was that?"

a large shadow cast overhead until what came down was a red dragon, poised and ready to fight.

Moka saw the dragon and understood what she had to do.

Inner Moka said to her, **This creature is too powerful for even I to defeat.**

"It's okay." Moka walked towards it.

**Have you lost your mind?! That's a monster!!!**

Moka continued walking, her eyes sharp as ever. "Maybe it is. But so am I."

Suddenly the megaphone hanging from the ceiling of the Gazebo began blaring out a song entitled, _**Shield of Faith.**_

The dragon roared and charged a fireball in its mouth. Moka quickly rushed in and moved left as fast as she could, the dragon chasing after her.

The beast threw its fireball at her, but missed as Moka ran up a tree before jumping off it and landing on the dragon. The beast roared as it tried its hardest to throw Moka off.

The dragon flew up to the circular walls and thrashed left and right but Moka held on hard as she made her way to the beast's head. But as she reached it, the beast banked hard to the right, hitting the wall. Moka was shaken off it but not out. She landed on the wall and ran on it as the beast flew the opposite direction, rounding about so their faces meet in the middle. Moka leaped off the wall and threw a flying right kick at the beast's left eye.

It connected and Moka landed on the beasts head once more. However, since her strength wasn't at maximum, her attack simply bruised his eye.

The dragon flew down in a spiraling pattern hoping she'd fall off.

Moka held on his head as it flew hard. But before it crashed into the water, Moka lept off it and landed on the roof of the small house.

She focused all of her remaining youki to her right fist as the dragon rose from the water and prepared another fireball.

Moka ran and leapt off the rooftop, her fist held back. Just before the dragon released its fireball, her eyes became crimson and slit. There was no anger. Just confidence in the one blow she was about to give.

"Know your place!" Moka shouted before throwing her enraged fist.

The dragon threw his fireball but Moka's youki charged fist blasted it, allowing the rest of the shockwave to smash the beast's head. The dragon was sent spiraling to the wall, headfirst.

The dragon fell of the wall and into the shallow waters. Though unconscious, its head was cracked and crushed.

Moka landed more gracefully on the shoreline, unafraid of the water that seeped at her feet.

Moka looked at herself to see if there were any wounds. All she found was a bruised right heel from kicking the eye of the dragon.

She looked back at the dragon and said, "You bruised my heel. But I crushed your head, serpent."

Moka's eyes returned to normal as she exhaled and walked back to the house only to faint at its doorsteps.

**Don't fall asleep there! Do you want me to catch a cold!**

But Outer Moka didn't listen. She simply slept in peace.

* * *

And that's a wrap.

Dante: Woah there! Is it me or is everyone in this cast on the road towards becoming epic?

Barkeep: and what's with the puzzle room? You trying to turn her into me? Don't lie to me the pattern's obvious.(rubs his goatee, his black shades shining and his combed, black hair held in place by a headband.)

Hehehe. Not completely. My point with Moka is that she needs to turn from lamb to lion. and she needs to not just see the halfway point with her introverted intuition but also develop extraverted intution.

Barkeep: She can't with just a puzzle room.

Oh. Fine, we'll just turn her into a lion then.

Dante: And I've noticed how Amu is on the road to becoming either Snake or Vincent Valentine. And let's not forget Tsukune who's turning into Welkin Gunther. Is everybody going to change here?

Change, maybe. Mature, definitely. After facing an intelligent foe, they have to. Tsukune is a special case. I want him to mature into a level 1 soon if you get my meaning.

Dante: (Looks through a few notes) What the hell?! He does that, he steals the show!!!

Barkeep: Yeah. He'll become more badass than Dante!

You sure? You're still badass in my book.

Barkeep: and one last thing, about that, 'White Devil'….ARE YOU NUTS!!!

Oops. Gotta go.

Ja matta!


	7. Secret Mission 07: Strategy and Tactics

Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

* * *

A/N: Ahh, the smell of gunpowder. The sight of bloodshed. The cries of the living and the last breath before death. These are what touch my senses in this chapter.

Barkeep: Is war all you think about?

Nah, it's just something I'm reading from a napkin at starbucks.

Barkeep: I remember last time that Tsukune and friends were heading out to sabotage Sebastian Jenkins' fortress-I mean, generator in Romania.

Yes. That was the last we heard of them. Dante hasn't written back in all this time. He must be sleeping through the events. Anyway, this one will be filled with explosions, gunshots, knives and blood. I repeat, things will get bloody and there will be a lot of swords. You know, 'I am the bone of my sword' kind of thing.

Barkeep: (Thinks deeply)…##$!#%$%! You're putting in Ar**er from F**e St*y/Nig*t? Are you insane?

Not as insane as putting in oh, a knife wielding assassin wearing burial cloth to cover his eyes. Before I lose control, let's see how Dante and pals are doing shall we?

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 07:**_ Strategy and Tactics_

_

* * *

_

7:30 AM

Somewhere in Romania

The C-2 Greyhound flew fast and furious at 12,000 feet not caring about being detected on Romanian airspace. As of this moment, it's crew was more concerned about dropping at the right place over the would be battlefield in the country.

While John and his copilot Tony guided the plane, In the Hull, Lowe was busy giving the plan of attack to Dante, Trish, Night, Riiko, Amu, Tsukune, Kurumu, Yukari, Kokoa, Mizore, and Ruby.

Lowe placed his hands on the table where the map of the facility and the ground around it lay for them to see.

"Alright," the dark skinned man started. "We just intercepted a transmission from the resistance. They'll begin the attack ahead of time."

Tsukune answered, "Casualties will rise on this one. Let's not allow their deaths to be in vain."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Lowe spoke up once more. "Our objective is to sabotage the generator of Sebastian Jenkin's facility. As planned, we'll land a few feet away from the river on the left side." He pointed on the leftmost edge of the map where the no man's land was separated by the river from the wire-fenced facility on the right.

"According to our intel, there's an unfinished wall on the west side (riverbank side) of the base. We can use it for cover and infiltrate here and here." he pointed to two sides of the left part of the base.

"We'll split up in three teams. Gold Team—(Night, Riiko, Kurumu, Ruby) will take out their communications to keep em' blind." He pointed at the red encircled tower on the left, rear-side of the map.

"At the same time, Blue Team—(Trish, Lowe, Yukari, Amu) will cripple their rides and their fuel. We'll be in charge of taking out the birds, armor and supplies here." he pointed at two, red encircled warehouses on the right side of the map.

"That leaves Red Team—(Dante, Tsukune, Mizore, Kokoa) to take down the generator, here." He pointed at a red encircled generator tower close to the unfinished left wall and the fence line.

"After we smoke the joint, we gotta exfil either here, or here." He pointed to the blue X on no man's land across the river and a blue X on the small house just a few feet below the facility.

"Any questions?" He finally asked as he made eye contact with the group.

Dante stood up and said, "**Operation: NORMANDY** is a go. Always wanted to say that."

Trish chuckled and said, "Not bad. We are storming the beachhead."

Just as the jokes were over, John Tobias told them, "This is your captain speaking. We are currently over Sebastian Jenkins' facility. I'm seeing fireworks down there in the killbox. Looks like the party just started without me."

Amu asked, "What's a killbox?"

Dante replied, "It's the place on the battlefield where you die. Don't worry shortstuff. We're making sure you don't end up there."

Tsukune stood up and said, "As soon as we land, we'll need to move fast so pack light everyone."

Everyone agreed and began arming themselves with weapons from the lockers.

Amu looked through the weapons in the locker and didn't know which to get. Yukari noticed her hesitation and asked, "What's wrong Amu-chan? Is there something you need?"

Amu replied, "I haven't decided which one to get."

Yukari reached into the locker and gave Amu 6 grenades, an M16, and a Beretta 92FS. "When in doubt, the most basic is the best choice."

Amu strapped the guns over her shoulders and on her side. "Are you sure this will work?"

Yukari smiled, "Of course silly. But the best weapons are always the ones that fit your role. Right now, your role is to destroy their supplies and transport. I'm sure Lowe-san and Trish-san are capable of planting the bombs for destroying the tanks and planes. But while they are doing that, we need to be on alert and cover them."

The Shugo Chara Ran whispered to Amu, "She's right. They can't fight back while their hands are planting bombs on the enemy airplanes and tanks."

Amu nodded and said, "Thank you Yukari. I'll put them to good use. What are you getting?"

Yukari pulled out an FIM-92 Stinger, an Mk46 Mod 0, and a Glock 34 out of the locker. The young witch chuckled and said, "This is enough firepower, I think."

Amu sweatdropped at the sight of the weapons. _'That's definitely more than enough.'_

Lowe put on the same gear as Amu—M16, Beretta 92FS, 6 grenades. He also packed 4 C4s, and his medical toolkit just in case.

Trish already had her double pistols so she just packed 4 grenades.

Seeing that Blue Team was packed, Gold Team started packing theirs.

Night and Riiko both took MP5s, sawed-off Luparas, and M1911s as their kit.

Ruby noticed their selection and said, "So you're taking the role of breaching. That's quite bold of you two."

Riiko faced her and said, "Well, after that mission with Trish in China, I watched a lot of war movies to find out the best way to use certain guns. I've also been reading this book by Tatsumiya Mana to understand how to use them better in the right situations."

Ruby nodded and said, "Good insight. Being well prepared already wins half the battle. In that case, I'll take the role of sniper." She reached into the locker and armed herself with an M14 EBR, complete with scope and suppressor, an Uzi, HK USP Compact Tactical, and a black combat knife.

Kurumu asked Ruby, "So what's my role?"

Ruby thought for a second. "Well, How about Grenadier? We could use someone who can scare troops out of cover."

Kurumu had a vein throbbing on her forehead. "Thanks a lot!"

Night cut in, "I think she means sending grenades to scare off troops."

Kurumu blushed and scratched her head. "Oh, sorry about that." Ruby then handed her an M41A1 with M203 attached, a USP, and an M32 MGL.

Kurumu happily armed the weapons and said, "Wait till Moka sees this."

Ruby handed her extra ammo for the M32 and said, "The rounds you have are mostly HOUND rounds. Meaning, they will explode in a large area. Also, I gave you specialized rounds that launch small rockets to take down choppers or anything requiring more precision. But don't waste them. You only have six of those. You might need to go above ground more often to launch a surprise attack with these weapons."

Kurumu replied, "I get it. Hey Tsukune, look what I have!"

Tsukune of Red Team took a look and his eyebrows rose. "Wow. That's a lot you're carrying there Kurumu." He looked at the selection of guns in the locker and said, "I think this will do." He pulled out an HK33 with scope, a PP-19 Bizon, and a USP.

Mizore picked the same weapons but grunted at the weight of the rifle. "The rifle is a bit heavy."

Dante walked up to her and said, "Though you're a lot more powerful than that, you may strain yourself carrying that thing in the heat." He took the rifle from her hand and pulled out a FAMAS from the locker and handed it to her. "Now that's more like it."

Mizore felt the weight of the new gun and decided to take this one instead, seeing how much easier it is to move with this one.

Kokoa was the last one to pick weapons. Apparently, she took the PKM and an M1911 pistol.

Dante saw her choice in armaments and wasn't too pleased. "Whoa there! That's way too big. We're not going Rambo on this one. Well, we might but still."

Kokoa replied, "Are there a lot of enemies?"

Dante answered, "Well, yeah…"

Kokoa huffed out, "Then I need this gun."

Of course, everyone else sweatdropped knowing she just wanted to use that gun. But jokes aside, they were locked and loaded and ready to fight. Dante walked to the rear door and entered into the cargo bay.

Dante took a deep breathe before facing the rest of the teams still in the Hull. "Listen guys. This is a battle to halt the war. We will be killing out there. And we will be killing Sebastian Jenkin's demons."

Tsukune and the Youkai-gumi caught their breath at the realization of what they are about to do. But Amu, Riiko, Night and Lowe swallowed hard knowing the weight of those words.

Dante continued. "I know it's a bit late but once you go out there, it's kill or be killed whether human or demon. If you don't have the guts to kill for any reason, then remain in the Hull. Otherwise, step into the place I'm standing and be ready to paint your world red."

They thought hard about what was going to take place. Never had Tsukune and his friends killed any sentient before. Some of their enemies died as a result of karma. But never did they kill with intent.

Trish entered the cargo bay. "Well someone has to watch your back."

Lowe entered next. "Well, you're gonna need a medic seeing as you two could die from anti-demon rounds. I'm in."

To their surprise, Amu stepped in. "I don't understand why this is happening. But I do understand that many people are suffering because of the place Sebastian-san built. So I'll stop this stupid thing and fight."

"Amu-chan…" Yukari almost whispered in awe.

Riiko stepped in next. "I don't have any strong words like Amu-chan. In fact, I'm here because of a string of misfortunate events. But, when I fought with Trish in China, I realized that these things aren't just a dream but something so real, that it scares me. 'What if they won?' or 'My friends will get eaten' entered my mind. I didn't want to see that ever happen and I can't stand by waiting for it to happen. So, I'll fight these scary things and end the nightmares."

Night stepped in as well. "I'll go wherever Riiko is going."

Dante looked back at the Youkai-gumi. He saw their heavy hesitation. _'In the end, the human members of the team, are the ones brave enough to fight a fear stronger than them. But that doesn't mean you guys can't as well.'_

Tsukune stepped in.

"Tsukune? Wha?" Kurumu blurted out.

Tsukune turned around and faced his friends. "Moka-san was the first to get hurt on our side. As long as we don't fight, then no one will stop him from doing the same things again. He believes that he can get away with everything. Now we have to show him that we won't let him."

Kokoa stepped in. Kurumu stepped in as well.

Mizore…

Ruby…

And finally, Yukari.

With all teams assembled, Dante smiled and said, "This will be something to remember. We should have a picture taking of this."

But they heard the sounds of battle grow in their ears, telling them that they were about to land.

Dante faced the rear hatch and said, "Showtime boys and girls. Let's hit the jackpot."

The C-2 Greyhound landed on the no-mans land on the west side of the river. It's rear hatch dropped and all three teams ran out.

With all teams settled down, the plane rose while closing its hatch, then flew off towards the south.

Immediately, the three teams wore their black chokers and Lowe pulled out a compass and binoculars.

He looked at the compass and said, "Alright, we're on the west side. So on the east…" he used the binoculars and looked towards the east where he saw heavy gunfire and some of the Resistance, armed with AK-47s, moving into position towards the a gray colored facility. "There she is." He pointed towards the facility for them to see. Like on the map, it was like a medium sized military base surrounded by a 12 ft tall concrete wall and a fence line 6 feet south of that. About 100 meters south of _that_, was a long 12 ft deep trench line followed by several blackened hills behind it.

Trish walked to the 400 ft wide river to check the water. She knelt down and stuck her hand in and said, "The current is a bit strong for humans to cross." She stood up and faced the group. "Night, since you're a robot, you should carry Riiko and jump across."

Dante got the idea and said, "We're jumping across everyone. Lowe, I'm gonna carry you over buddy. Amu should stick with someone who can jump that far."

Of course, Amu and Riiko were confused by what he said. Who in their right mind could jump that far?

Miki, Amu-chan's Shugo Chara, said to the pink haired girl, "Well, with Dante and Trish it might be possible."

Amu replied, "What fairy tale book did you read that from?"

Su said to her, "I don't think we'll need to jump that far." She pointed at Mizore who was by the riverside. The Yuki Onna placed both hands in the water and suddenly, the immediate ground around her feet turned to ice. But if one were to trace the origin, the ice itself seemed to come from her hands and followed a straight line under the water towards the other side of the river.

Despite the questions and look of confusion and awe from Amu, Riiko and Night, Mizore faced them and said, "I've built the bridge across." She took a step away from the ice she stood on. Kneeling down, she pulled away a manhole sized cover on top of the ice to reveal an empty space, 10 ft deep.

Tsukune replied, "I get it. You used your ice powers and made a tunnel of ice to cross underwater. That's brilliant Mizore. Way to go!"

Riiko, with wide-eyed surprise, said, "EHHH? Are you joking?"

Ruby said to her, "Mizore-chan is a Yuki Onna. Her ice powers are invaluable to our little group."

Riiko was still in shock and disbelief. _'A Yuki Onna? As in Snow Girl—spirits of the snow that freeze people and kidnap the men? Where did she come from? Wha-why is she here?'_

Amu was in even more confusion that Riiko. Spirals became the pink haired girl's eyes. "Wait, what's a Yuki Onna?"

Trish said to them, "We'll tackle the hard questions later. Let's start with entering the tunnel first."

All three teams gathered around the manhole and Dante jumped in first. One by one they jumped in till Amu, the last one, jumped in and closed the hatch behind her. Because the tunnel was made of ice and did not show up on the surface of the water, they casually waked through to the other side while admiring the view the transparency that ice gave it.

Riiko smiled and said, "WOW! It's like an aquarium from Universal Studios! You're so cool Mizore-chan!"

Mizore blushed a little and said, "When my people needed to cross great large bodies of water while remaining unseen, they would create ice tunnels that could stretch as far as China."

Amu looked around her and said, "This is amazing."

Kurumu slapped Mizore on the back and said, "Way to go Mizore. You're like a swiss army knife."

Ruby quickly cocked her M14 EBR and said, "I'll go on ahead and take out any patrolling guards on the other side."

Yukari suddenly said, "But what if they're humans?"

Lowe replied, "Then I'll take care of it." he cocked his M16 and screwed a suppressor over the muzzle break.

Night understood that Lowe was serious. "You've killed people before?"

Lowe sighed and said, "Yeah. A couple back in Vietnam."

Night looked down and said, "I'm sorry."

Lowe was perplexed by his sudden apology. "Sorry for what?"

Night faced forward and said, "For asking something you didn't sound happy to hear."

With his left hand, the dark skinned veteran rubbed the back of his head. "It's nothing. I knew what I was getting into and served my country. 'In war, killing is not a sin. Failing to protect by killing is.' That's what the captain used to say to remind us what we stood to lose if we don't do our duty. I followed it and lived long enough to talk to you about it."

Night shook his head and said, "Maybe it doesn't have to be that way this time. I'm sure there's a reason why Sebastian Jenkins is doing all this."

Dante replied, "Well if there was, he didn't tell us first hand."

Trish answered, "Night, not all people listen to reason. There are some people in this world who just want to see the world kill itself over and over again. Arkham tried it once and now, Sebastian Jenkins is trying it again on a larger scale."

Amu retorted, "So how do we make him listen?"

Trish replied, "By teaching him that his decisions lead to his demise. Sometimes, when men become monsters, there is no other way than permanently preventing them from creating more monsters."

Kurumu knew where this conversation was going as they walked through the icy tunnel. It saddened her. "So we're supposed to just kill him?"

Lowe retorted, "No. I'm supposed to kill him."

The entire team reached the end of the tunnel, on the other side of the river. Dante walked over and gave Ruby a boost to push open the icy manhole. The witch, armed with her M14 EBR carefully pushed aside the manhole and propped a bit of her head up while aiming with her weapon. Looking through the scope, she noticed two men standing 4 ft ahead with their backs facing her. She looked above them and saw an unfinished tower on the half built wall. There was a sentry keeping watch.

'_There are two guards and a sentry on a tower.' _She mentally told her teammates. _'None are human. In fact, this entire base feels inhuman.'_

The rest of the team cocked their weapons in reply.

When they heard a large explosion coming from the frontline, Ruby shot two rounds, killing the two guards with headshots. Dante strengthened his arms and pushed Ruby all the way into mid-air, allowing Ruby to give the sentry an unexpected point blank headshot, and land safely inside the sentry tower.

Dante jumped out, followed by Kurumu who spread her wings and flew into the tower.

Kokoa jumped out, followed by Tsukune who in turn helped his teammates up and out of the manhole.

Once out, Night mentally said, _'Hey, did Kurumu just grow wings and fly?'_

Trish replied, _'Yep. She's a Succubus. I'm surprised she hasn't tempted you yet.'_

The ones still on the ground stacked up behind a human sized space in the wall while Kurumu and Ruby, on the tower, surveyed the base.

Ruby mentally replied, _'Like Hakase said, they're all focusing on the frontline at the gate. Very few guards at the objectives. Once I take out the sentries, move in as fast as you can. Don't hesitate to kill. None of them are human.'_

They nodded and Ruby knelt down on the sentry wall facing the base and propped her sniper rifle in place. She looked first at the communications tower and noticed a lone guard by the entrance, a few feet away from her position. Taking careful aim, she squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet to his brain.

She looked once more towards the Generator close to the front of the base. It was about 235 yds away. She noticed two guards at the entrance. One was talking on his radio while the other was giving supporting fire for the front. She waited for the one on the radio to look at the frontline. When he did, she sent a bullet to their heads, making it look like it came from the frontline.

Lastly, she aimed her sniper rifle across to the warehouses in the east of the base. Looking through the scope, she saw the tank sized sliding doors of one house open up and a rusty pickup truck with ten soldiers on it drove out, heading towards the frontline. Ruby aimed carefully at the truck and shot the driver in the head. The truck halted just outside the warehouse and Kurumu aimed her MGL at the truck. Before the soldiers could get down and take cover, Kurumu shot the truck, causing it to explode—killing the soldiers.

'_Move in.' _Ruby told the team before jumping down to the ground with Kurumu right behind her.

Dante and friends rushed in and began the operation. GOLD Team Moved towards the communication tower, BLUE Team moved to the warehouse, and RED Team to the Generator.

* * *

GOLD Team Perspective.

Codenamed: Gangland

Night, Riiko, Kurumu and Ruby stacked up by the either side of the door. The robot of the group(Night) armed with an MP5, kicked down the door and rushed in, followed by Kurumu, Riiko and Ruby in that order.

They entered the first floor where it was one hallway with closed rooms on each side and the stairs at the end of the floor.

Ruby mentally hollered, _'I'll draw them out with my magic. Cover me.'_

Night and Kurumu stood in front of Ruby with Riiko standing beside the witch.

Ruby slung her M14 EBR and pulled out her wand. She began the incantation.

Curious of the witch Riiko mentally asked, _'She's preparing some kind of spell right? So she's a witch?'_

Kurumu replied, _'Yes. Ruby-san is a witch. Her magic is strong but it takes time to prepare. Kinda like artillery. In any case, we have to protect her while she chants the spell.'_

Suddenly, the door of one of the far end rooms opened up and three soldiers armed with M60's came out and began firing at them.

Thinking fast, Night grabbed Ruby, and crashed through the door on his left to evade. Kurumu and Riiko managed to do the same to the room on the right.

Riiko moved close to the entrance of the room she was in and aimed her MP5 where they were most likely firing from. She fired away, causing the soldiers to return to the room they came from while five more poured in from the stairs, heading to our beloved team. The five soldiers armed with FN FAL fired back at her. But Riiko was quick enough to bring herself back into the room.

Heavily pinned down, they needed to act fast before the soldiers began their counterattack. Ruby mentally commanded, _'My magic is ready. Night, blow a hole into the next room.'_

Night went to the wall separating the two rooms and smashed it down with his fist. Ruby walked through it and waited for the soldiers to stop firing. When she heard them stop firing and begin moving forward, a pair of black wings of magic appeared on her back. She dashed out the door and appeared just in front of them. Her wings extended and like paper-thin blades, struck them through their necks, severing their heads with ease. Shortly after, her wings disappeared and the rest of GOLD Team walked out of hiding.

"Whoa." Riiko gaped aloud. _'This is the power of magic? Come to think of it, Trish shot lightning out of her hands. Now Ruby is growing wings from her back like Kurumu did awhile ago.'_

Kurumu armed herself with her M41AI and said, "Let's keep moving up."

Ruby switched to her Uzi and Gold Team ran to the stairs and moved up one floor. No one was around. They went up the stairs again.

Third floor. Nothing.

Fourth. Nothing.

Fifth…

Sixth…

Seventh. The backup generator room.

It was a square room with four combined electric generators on the wall should the main generator fail.

Without hesitation, GOLD Team fired away at the generators till sparks and small explosions filled the room.

Night replied, "That takes care of their electronics. Let's get to the top of the tower and finish the job."

They carefully walked up the stairs to the last floor where they could see the white door up ahead.

Riiko and Night switched to Sawed-off Luparas as GOLD Team walked towards the door.

Suddenly, bullets came through the door, raining down on them. Someone was crazy enough to fire through the door hoping to hit the intruders.

Night quickly jumped in front of the girls and took all the shots. Falling down the stairs, Ruby caught him in time as Kurumu moved up. Riiko on the other hand couldn't after seeing her boyfriend in such a state.

"Night!" She yelped as she ran to him.

Night smiled and said, "Don't worry. I can be replaced. Finish the mission Riiko."

Ruby saw the growing worry in Riiko's eyes. "You take care of him. I'll take revenge fo-"

But Riiko, with sawed-off shotgun in her right hand, rushed up the stairs, past Kurumu and through the doors in a burst of adrenaline. The room she entered was filled with computers setup in two concave rows with the large windows across the room. She saw ten uniformed soldiers by the computers, armed with pistols. What she didn't notice was that one of them was standing by her right side pointing his FN FAL at her right temple. Her adrenaline pumped high and fast when she felt the warmth given off by the barrel of the gun. But her eyes were cold though dilated.

Kurumu tried to rush in but Riiko acted first. She quickly tossed the sawed-off to her left hand and grabbed the rifle barrel, pointing it above her head. The man was about to pull the trigger when she aimed the shotgun with her left hand and blasted at his abdomen.

Things started to move in slow motion to Riiko after that. She noticed the other soldiers aiming their pistols at her. Without warning she let go of the FN FAL, ran forward and shot the Lupara at one soldier's chest. They managed to fire the first shots at her but she was able to see the bullet's trajectory and dodged them as she dropped the Lupara and ran to the next soldier. When she was close enough she gave him a right flying kick to the face while pulling out her M1911 from her right side holster. As soon as she landed, she rolled forward, dodging the next wave of bullets, and halted in a crouching position just in front of the next soldier. She quickly made a right spin kick to his legs, causing him to collapse on the floor. Seeing him on the floor, she gave him a well-placed headshot as the earlier soldier she attacked began to get up.

Kurumu managed to jump in this time and entered the room yelling, "Hey! Eyes over this pretty face!" the soldiers glanced for a moment. The chance she needed.

Kurumu then used her eye ability **charm**, causing the soldiers to fall into a trance and drop their weapons. The blue haired girl fired the M41A1 by the hip in a Tommy Gun fashion, killing the dazed soldiers. By the time Kurumu was done, their black blood polluted the floor, computer screens and parts of the windows.

Kurumu walked over to Riiko as Ruby, carrying Night by the shoulder, walked in.

The blue haired girl noticed Riiko's rage began cooling off. "It's over. We're all fine now."

Riiko got up and nodded as tears began falling down her face.

Kurumu's eyebrows furrowed as she said, "Hey! Stop crying. You're not a child anymore right? So wipe the tears off your face."

Riiko faced her with a face red in anger. "Shut up! You don't know what it feels like. I want to kill every single one of them. Because of them, Night…"

"Riiko!" Night said in a snappy voice.

Riiko snapped out of her stupor as Night's sorrowful face gazed at hers.

"I love you Riiko. So don't worry about me." Night replied with a forced smile. "If you keep getting angry like this, I'll fall apart."

Riiko's eyes widened for a moment. She bowed her head in shame as her awareness began to return.

Ruby sighed in resignation. She carefully placed Night by the wall close to the doorway and pulled out her Uzi. "A job well done everyone. Let's finish this."

Riiko and Kurumu nodded.

Riiko holstered her pistol as she armed herself with her MP5 while Kurumu loaded in the last of her M41A1 magazine.

Both the strawberry blonde and the blue haired girl took positions beside Ruby. All three girls fired away at the computers till they were unrecognizable.

Riiko sighed and said, "That's the last of the MP5. All I have left is my pistol."

Kurumu slung her M41A1 over her shoulder. "I'm out too. But I still have this." she pointed to her MGL still loaded with ammo.

Ruby retorted, "My Uzi is out so I'm in roughly the same position. How about you Night?"

Night replied, "I still have plenty. Take mine Riiko. You'll need it more." He handed over his MP5.

Riiko took it and said, "Don't worry Night. I'll protect you." _'This time for sure.'_

Seeing that their objective was complete, Ruby informed the other teams. _'GOLD Team here. Objective completed. How about yours?'_

* * *

RED Team Perspective

Codenamed: Smoked

Tsukune, Dante, Mizore and Kokoa stacked up beside the door to the main generator towering over the base. Amidst the sounds of gunfire, Dante announced, "Just because they're preoccupied doesn't mean they're not prepared. Let's meet their standards shall we?"

Dante kicked the door down and walked right in while pulling from his coat, Ebony and Ivory.

He entered a circular room where there were stairs on his left and right that followed the curvature of the room and led to a high-rise balcony across the room. On the balcony itself, stood three, towering, interconnected pipes with several wires on it, branching out like a tree. But at the very top of those pipes were the exhaust pipes that occasionally glowed amber. To get to those pipes, someone needed to use the red, emergency ladder jutting from the main 'trunk' of the tree.

Other than that, there were a few metal crates here and there in the center of the room.

Dante whistled seeing the room. "I've heard think green but that takes the cake. Bravo. What's the fruit like? Is it burning with delight?"

Kokoa entered the room hearing his lame jokes. "Shut up you idiot. We're already surrounded."

Dante looked up at the balcony and saw one hundred, 9 ft tall soldiers with heavy body armor, carrying M61 Vulcans each. And it looked like they had the body to carry their loads.

Tsukune and Mizore walked in just as the Vulcan cylinders were beginning to rotate.

"Vulcan Soldiers! Take cover!" Dante shouted as bullets began flying towards them.

RED Team dashed quickly behind the metal crates to avoid getting shot at.

Mizore mentally told her team, _'We need to move up the stairs before they blow up our cover.'_

Tsukune answered, _'Then we'll need a distraction. Dante, can you play the decoy for a while?'_

Dante replied, _'I've got it covered. Wait I have a better idea. We'll hit them with a pincer. I'll take the left, Kokoa will take the right. Mizore, stay here and create clones carrying riot shields to cover our fronts. Tsukune, while we distract them, snipe as many as you can from here.'_

Mizore felt the ground for an underground water source. Luckily, the water pipes underneath the floor was available. Freezing her hands into icicle claws, she dug into the ground, hitting the water pipes with ease. Her hands now touching the water, she was able to take control of it allowing the water to rise through the crack she made, and transform into ten copies of herself, except carrying riot shields.

Dante stood up from cover and ran left to the left stairway, drawing enemy fire. Five of the clones followed him, stood in front of him and pulled up their riot shields, absorbing the bullets in Dante's place.

Kokoa ran next to the right stairway with the remaining Mizore clones shielding her in the same manner.

The Vulcan soldiers fired away at the Mizore clones, seeing them as the most dangerous threat. One soldier however, pulled out a grenade and threw it at the metal crates.

Flying through the air, the cylindrical grenade was about to fall until Dante aimed with Ivory in his right hand, and shot it causing it to explode in mid-air.

Fifty Vulcan soldiers moved towards the left staircase while the remaining fifty ran to the right. Both sets shot at Dante and Kokoa but the Mizore clones shielded them.

Amidst the battle, Tsukune saw this as his moment and aimed his scoped HK33 at the soldiers shooting from the right staircase.

He fired three good shots and managed to make three headshots, killing three soldiers.

The remaining 47 on that side were momentarily shocked until Kokoa suddenly leaped just above them aiming the PKM down at them. She fired without remorse.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" was Kokoa's battlecry.

The wave of bullets rained down and killed twenty of them before Kokoa landed in their midst, ready to get up close and personal.

Dante on the other hand was having the time of his life. The fifty soldiers shooting at him didn't bother to help their comrades after seeing Dante shoot down a grenade in mid-air. They fired a heavy rain of bullets but the Mizore clones held strong with their riot shields.

Dante ran up the nearby wall and kicked off it and landed just behind those fifty soldiers while holstering his twin guns and equipping Rebellion. Before the soldiers could turn around, Dante used Quicksilver to stop time, and made a mad dash to each soldier, slicing their heads off with a clean cut. By the time he was done, so was his Quicksilver.

The fifty soldiers fell to the ground, their heads rolling and their black blood flowing to the floor.

The real Mizore saw this and was caught speechless. Never had she seen what Dante had done. _'F-for a second. He disappeared. But the next second, he reappeared while they fell down with their heads severed. What just happened?'_

"Mizore, its time to move up." Tsukune told her, grabbing her attention.

The Yuki Onna looked around and noticed 47 more dead soldiers at Kokoa's feet. She saw black blood all over Kokoa and a heavily warped, but bloody PKM on her right hand. It seems she used it as a mace in the melee.

The purple haired girl also noticed that her clones have fallen apart. No doubt from absorbing so much firepower.

Seeing that everything was alright, she stood up and walked alongside Tsukune towards the generator.

Kokoa huffed and pointed at Tsukune. "Why'd you have to kill them all? I could definitely bashed them into a pulp."

Tsukune replied as he walked up the stairs, "Your safety is more important. Moka-san would be sad to see you hurt. Actually, she'd be happy to know you took down 5 of them."

Mizore walked up the stairs as well. "So Tsukune shot down the remaining 42. You're even better than I expected."

RED Team walked and stood in front of the generator, seeing its massive size.

Dante asked them, "Tsukune, How much ammo you got left?"

Tsukune replied, "My HK33 is out. I'm stuck with the Bizon for the rest of the mission."

Kokoa answered next. "My gun is out too. Not even a pistol can blow this thing up."

Mizore retorted, "Mine wouldn't kill this thing either even with full ammo."

Dante rubbed his head until him and RED Team mentally heard Ruby say, _'GOLD Team here. Objective completed. How about yours?'_

Kokoa answered, _'We're still dealing with the generator.'_

Dante, armed with Rebellion in his right hand, walked close to the generator and looked for the main circuitry powering it. "Maybe if I cut apart the base of this thing, it'd fall down on its own."

Tsukune replied, "I think we just need to overload it somehow." _'There should be a blueprint somewhere.' _

Kokoa replied, "We can do that by blowing it up."

Mizore answered, "Then lets begin. Dante, cut open the generators so we can throw in grenades."

Dante went to work and stabbed his sword into the first generator, and cut a large hole

In it, exposing the wiring and inner parts of it while Tsukune, Mizore and Kokoa, salvaged the bodies of the Vulcan soldiers for their grenades.

Dante walked to the next generator and did the same thing as the rest of RED Team began packing the grenades into three clumps of nine grenades stacked together with a string tied to pull all nine rings at once.

The silver haired demon hunter went to the last generator and cut another hole into it as Kokoa said, "It's finished. Let's destroy this thing."

Dante stepped aside as Tsukune carefully placed the first clumped grenades into the hole of the left generator.

Kokoa placed in the next clump into the hole of the middle generator.

Dante took the last clump and placed it into the hole in the right generator.

All three carefully held onto the strings attached and pulled it, yanking the pins out.

RED Team ran as fast as they could to the main entrance as they heard a loud blast coming from the balcony.

Once outside the towering Generator, Dante yelled, "RUN!" but his instincts told him they wouldn't make it. So he went into Quicksilver again and made a doppelganger. Dante carried Mizore and Kokoa with both his arms while his clone carried Tsukune and both of them dashed towards the Communication Tower. They burst through the door, and dived to the ground as the Generator exploded, sending large chunks of rock, sand, and metal pieces into all directions. In fact, the explosion alone, blew up the entire front wall.

Dante's clone disappeared as RED Team looked back through the opened door and saw what had happened to the Generator. It was reduced to a charred, smoking piece of rubble. And so was the front wall and some of the soldiers taking cover in the front wall. In fact, the explosion managed to take down half of the unfinished wall to the right.

Dante laughed hard and loud. "MAAN! THAT WAS AWESOME!"

* * *

BLUE Team Perspective

Codenamed: Puppet

Lowe, Trish, Amu and Yukari charged through the opened warehouse despite the heavy gunfire they were taking from the defending soldiers armed with AR15s.

Amu pulled out Desolator aimed at the soldiers and made five headshots, killing the first wave of defenders.

Luckily there were two Abrams Tanks sitting side by side allowing Lowe and Yukari to take cover in front of the left one while Trish and Amu took cover in front of the one on the right.

Another wave of six soldiers armed with AR15s came out of the back room and moved forward. Two circled around the left tank while the remaining four to the right tank.

Lowe took a peek at the left part of the tank and noticed the two soldiers walking to them. Hiding once more behind the tank, he mentally said, _'There's two on my left. The other four are missing.'_

Yukari replied, _'I'll send my magical cards in when you can locate the other four.'_

Trish quickly dashed to the right side of her tank and found the other four walking to her. _'Target confirmed.'_

Yukari pulled out her wand and some magical cards. With a wave of her wand, the cards flew under the tank on the right and towards the four soldiers there. The magical cards caught them by surprise, pierced and severed them multiple times stopping only when the mangled soldiers became mangled slabs of meat.

Lowe pulled out of cover from the tank on the left and ran in front of the two remaining soldiers while firing his M16. All shots pierced through the soldiers killing them.

Yukari and Amu stood up as Lowe took out his C4 and made an overhead toss of 4 of them to Trish.

Catching it, Trish jumped on top of the tank and opened the hatch. "Amu. Cover me."

Amu climbed on top of the front armor and hid behind the M68 gun turret while keeping an eye out for soldiers.

Yukari did the same on the left tank while Lowe opened the hatch to place the explosives.

When Lowe and Trish entered their respective tanks, Yukari telekinetically locked in to one magic card and sent the lone card to scout ahead towards the back of the warehouse. It searched and saw that the warehouse was incredibly big. There were weapons on the back left corner of the room, supplies on the right corner of the room, two more tanks in the back, a chopper, and three Shenyang J-8 combat aircrafts. What the lone card also scouted was a small group of ten soldiers armed with AR15s, heading their way.

Yukari quickly warned her comrades. _'More soldiers heading this way!'_

Trish replied, _'Wait for me. I'll be right there.'_

However, Yukari couldn't wait. She faced Amu and said, "Amu-chan, we have to cover Lowe and Trish or else we'll be overrunned."

Without hesitation, Yukari climbed on top of the tank on the right, grabbed Amu's hand and pulled the pink haired girl alongside her.

"Ehh? Wha-what are doing? Yukari-chan?" the pink haired girl pleaded as Yukari pulled her to the back of the tank.

Yukari told her, "We don't have time to waste. My magic card scanned the room and there are soldiers heading here." she quickly pulled Amu down to the ground and both crawled backwards, underneath the tank.

Yukari equipped her MK46 while Amu equipped her M16. Both lay in wait as the enemy soldiers ahead of them moved in position. The soldiers spread out to the flanks hoping to catch them in a pincer movement while taking cover behind the strewn about metal crates.

Before the soldiers could get to cover, Yukari opened fire and annihilated the 5-man right flank. Amu aimed her M-16 at the remaining soldiers on the left and opened fire, killing two of them before she needed to change mags. The remaining three soldiers moved into cover and opened fire on their position.

As Yukari and Amu crawled backwards to avoid the bullets, one of the soldiers threw a grenade underneath the tank. Amu's eyes widened as she saw the explosive rolling to them. Without hesitation, Yukari concentrated her magic onto her left hand and magically repelled the grenade to roll back. And just as it left the tank, it exploded, the shrapnel doing no damage to them.

The remaining enemy soldiers moved in just as Trish leaped out of the tank and landed right in front of them. Before they could react, Trish ducked and made a sweeping kick with her right leg. The soldiers lost their balance and were about to fall. In that split second, Trish waved her right hand at the soldiers, sending a wave of electricity to them that burned through their bodies before they landed on the floor in pieces.

As Trish got up, Lowe climbed up out his tank and Amu and Yukari crawled out of the tank.

"That was SOO COOL!" Yukari exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

Lowe cut in, "Charges set on these babies. What's next?"

Yukari snapped back to reality upon hearing his voice. "There are two more tanks in the back, a chopper and three airplanes. There are also supplies in the right corner and weapons in the left."

Trish replied, "In that case, all of us will need to plant the charges."

Lowe handed her some of his C4 then shared the rest between him, Amu, and Yukari. While Trish ran to the back room, the hardened medic explained to them the game plan. "Alright, we'll set the charges at the same time so nobody gets caught in the blast. I'll take the remaining tanks while you plant the rest on the planes. Just stick it to something with enough pressure, stick in the detonator rods and turn the dial on the detonator where it flashes green. The green light means it's armed. Turn the dial again to the red indicator and it'll blow."

He demonstrated by placing detonator rods in his set of C4 and turning the dial on the detonator to the green indicator. Amu and Yukari followed his example.

Lowe ran to the back where the tanks were while Yukari ran to the chopper and Amu to the three planes.

As Amu ran there, Ran told her, "Amu-chan, do you know where to plant the bombs?"

Amu replied, "I'll plant the bombs in the cockpit. The plane can't be used if it can't be controlled."

Miki answered, "That's right. Amu-chan is starting to think like a soldier."

Su pitched in, "But will it really be okay? This place is important enough for Sebastian-san to guard it. So I think he'll have one of his evil knights to protect this place."

Amu stopped right in front of the planes as that idea turned the cogs of her mind. "That's not impossible. If this place is one of the generators to his main building, then why haven't we seen any of his main henchmen?"

Amu shook her head and said, "We can't think of that now. We need to blow up the planes so that the other soldiers can't escape." She climbed on top of the first plane, and punched the glass shielding of the cockpit hoping to smash it with ease only to hurt her hand in failure.

As she cried anime tears from her stupidity, she heard Trish mentally speak, _'The supplies and weapons are charged. What's next?'_

Amu heard it and pulled her wits together and equipped her M-16 and used it as a club and somehow, smashed the shielding. She jumped inside and planted the C-4. She carefully climbed out and jumped down and climbed over to the next plane as Lowe spoke next. _'Charges set. Go and help out the others.'_

Amu clubbed the shielding again and leaped in and planted the next charge as she heard Ruby's mental announcement. _'GOLD Team here. Objective completed. How about yours?'_

Su commented, "They're already done?"

Amu finished planting the next charge. "Yosh. One more to go."

And just in time as well. Kokoa mentally announced, _'We're still dealing with the generator.'_

Amu leaped off the plane as Yukari came racing to her position.

"Amu-chan! Are you done?" the young witch asked.

Amu replied, "Just one more to go."

Lowe came running in next with Trish trailing behind him. Seeing that everyone was gathered, Amu climbed on top of the next plane only to notice that this plane had its shielding open. She jumped inside and planted the last charge.

Back on the ground, Lowe asked the crew, "Did everyone hear the service announcement?"

Trish replied, "The plan seems to be doing well. But we can't let our guard down. This installation is still well guarded."

Yukari thought about it and said, "This is just like back in Germany. No one seemed to encounter difficulty with the plan until everyone was in position. How sure are we that we're not in another trap?"

Lowe scratched his head and said, "I really don't know. Our intel was risky to begin with. For all we know, that sniper is waiting for us again."

Soon enough Amu finished planting the charge as the sound of the main generator exploding, reverberated throughout the base.

Trish whistled. "Sounds like they had a blast."

Lowe answered, "Well let's make a party of our own."

Amu climbed down the plane and said, "All of the bombs are set."

Blue Team ran outside of the warehouse to see the remains of the generator and its debris litter the base.

"Time for the Coup de Grace." Trish commented.

They ran to the communication tower and as soon as they entered it, they closed the door behind them, not noticing Red Team's exhausted faces.

Blue Team unanimously turned the dials on their detonators, causing the entire warehouse to explode, sending shockwaves throughout the base and knocking down the remaining defending soldiers at the frontline. The communications tower held but all its windows did not. Still, all three teams were completely fine.

Blue Team sat on the floor as Dante said, "Mission complete then?"

Trish nodded in reply as Tsukune mentally told all teams, _'We're done here. Let's head home.'_

Amu sighed in relief and said, "I'm glad it's over."

But as soon as she said that, they heard a rumbling noise coming from outside. Dante walked to the door and took a peek. What he saw wasn't what he'd expect.

The huge cement space in the ground slid open like an automatic sliding door as a platform rose up to the surface. Standing on the platform was an 11.5m tall, urban-camouflaged robot with a bulky torso that carried two large, internal guns on both sides of the chest. It had a missile rack in the solar plexus of the torso but that wasn't its only weapon. On its right arm was a built in gatling gun made with three Royal Ordnance L7 tank turret barrels to revolve around the right forearm. The ammunition was belt fed from a large backpack that was permanently welded to the back of the robot. On the left arm however, was three, arm mounted M2 machine guns, kept side by side on top of the left forearm. The legs were slightly crouched from the weight of the robot but at the head there wasn't a mouth but a large, glass visor and one laser gun mounted on both sides of the head where the ears should be.

When the platform fully rose to the surface, Dante closed the door and faced his teammates with a look of amusement. "Looks like somebody jinxed the good luck we had."

Blue Team and Red Team stared at Amu. The poor girl had no idea what she had inadvertedly done.

Riiko mentally announced, _'Wha-wha-what is that thing? Am I seeing things? Are we fighting against transformers now?'_

Trish and Lowe groaned, knowing exactly what she meant.

Night announced next, _'What should we do now?'_

Kokoa, Yukari and Amu were confused as to why the grown-ups were worried. Dante noticed this and told them, "Basically, there's a 38 feet tall robot outside who's going to be very pissed at our little prank."

Kokoa began comically sweating. "Oi, should you even be joking about that?"

Suddenly, they heard a voice outside the communications tower. "What happened here? I just went to the bathroom and already this place is destroyed!"

All three teams sweatdropped knowing that was the pilot of said robot.

Dante mentally announced, _'We can't take that thing by ourselves. Well, we can but…yeah, we're gonna get blasted into pink mists. At least you guys will.'_

'_Dante…' _Trish menacingly replied.

Tsukune asked, _'Is everybody okay to run?'_

Night replied, _'I'm kind of injured but I can still run.'_

Dante announced, _'Here's the plan. Me, Trish and Kurumu will distract our walking soda can while everybody else runs back to the river and to the extraction point. Kurumu, fly high and distract it from above. See if you can blind it somehow. Trish, give her covering fire while I cut down its legs.'_

"So you're the culprit." Said the pilot from outside.

* * *

The pilot was a well-respected man in Sebastian Jenkin's private army. He was put in charge of the main defense of the base. He had the most stopping power and the most imposing weapon in the armory. But because of his weak bowels, he took a short break to relieve himself. He didn't think the base would be overturned by the militia entrenched by the front gate. But when he returned to his robot and took a look at things on the surface, He paled seeing the destruction.

"What happened here?" He shouted over his speaker. "I just went to the bathroom and already this place is destroyed!"

He was seated within the torso of the monster so he had to rely on the **Electronic External Sensors** or **EEC** on the head of the robot to view the world around him. And the view he saw was less than pleasing. He knew his boss would kill him if he saw this. So he looked around to find the culprits. Quickly noticing the communications tower was still standing, he scanned it and found our heroes taking refuge in it while none of his men were inside.

Luckily, the scans showed exactly where GOLD Team was—on the main computers of the communications tower, overlooking the base.

"So You're the culprit!" the pilot said. He aimed the triple M2s on his left arm at the windows.

Riiko noticed the guns and shouted, "DUCK!"

The M2s blasted a continuous hail of .50 caliber bullets at them. Riiko, Ruby, Kurumu and Night hugged the ground, avoiding the attack but were severely pinned down.

"Persistent bugs!" the pilot commented. He aimed the left arm a bit lower hoping to hit them. But out of nowhere, a stinger missile, fired from below, hit his left arm, veering the hailstorm's trajectory towards the sky. The pilot looked down to see it was Yukari armed with her FIM Stinger. It seems she had just jumped out of the entrance of the communications tower and took a pot shot at his left arm.

The pilot swiveled his torso towards her and aimed his left arm at her. But before he could fire, his sensors picked up movement coming from the open window of the comm. Tower. In fact, the sensors picked up the heat signature, about to fly over his head. He turned his head to look but saw a grenade launched at his face. The pilot quickly activated the **Kinetic Distortion Field** or **KDF** and the visor on the head glowed yellow. The grenade hit and exploded but the shrapnel, shockwave and resulting fire, promptly fell apart and dispersed almost harmlessly leaving some soot on the head armor.

Kurumu, who fired the grenade while flying overhead, was dumbstruck. "It didn't do a thing."

The pilot swung the right arm at Kurumu, hoping to swat her away with his oversized gatling gun. Kurumu quickly flew behind the robot and popped two more grenades at the back of his head. Like the first, they exploded but did not damage the armor.

Dante quickly rushed out of the entrance of the comm. Tower, equipped Rebellion and charged at the robot. "Hey! I'm giving you a jumbo enema tin man!"

The pilot heard the profane remark and looked down at Dante. He tried to step on him with the right foot but Dante swiftly ran left and jumped on the back left leg of the robot. From there, he quickly climbed up the robot all the way to the head and tried to stab it but his sword barely scratched the armor.

The pilot's sensors picked up the demon slayer on top. "Oh? Is that how you want to play it?" He raised the left hand to grab Dante but a wave of electricity suddenly hit him from the front, disorienting him and indirectly, electrocuted Dante. Of course the demon slayer didn't take that lightly. "C'mon, he's the one we're frying not me Trish!"

Trish, at entrance to the communication tower, smiled and said, "Well you shouldn't have been up there then."

The rest of RED Team and Blue Team ran outside the tower to see their foe. They were completely jawdropped seeing the thing.

Lowe said to the teenagers, "We gotta bounce homies."

Amu faced him and said, "What about Riiko, Night and Ruby?"

Trish pulled out her guns and began firing electrically charged shot, one after the other on the robot while she mentally talked to Riiko. _'You have to get out of here now. Do whatever it takes but just leave.'_

_

* * *

_Within the communication's room, Riiko nodded and said, "Ruby let's leave now."

Ruby pulled up her Mk 14 mod 0 EBR and said, "You go and take Night with you. I'll provide magical support. It seems to be weak against magic."

Riiko was about to comment until Ruby's black wings appeared. Riiko nodded and said, "Can you do this?"

Ruby aimed her weapon at the monster and said, "Yes, I can. Now go."

Riiko pulled Night to his feet and carefully jogged him down the stairs.

Seeing that they were gone, Ruby walked to the shattered windows and looked through the scope. She saw Dante holding onto the robot's head for dear life while Kurumu nimbly hovered over it and Trish provided magical support from the ground. She also noticed Yukari standing beside Trish, firing her FIM-92 Stinger at the robot.

Ruby quickly aimed her scope at the head and fired at the visor. The bullet hit the target, but did no damage. In fact it dropped harmlessly to the floor. _'It's as I suspected. Hit it with as much magical energy as you can.'_

Yukari switched to her wand and was about to send a deck of magical cards at the robot until she heard Amu shout, "My heart, Unlock!"

Suddenly, Amu in Amulet Spirit form flew towards the robot and cocked the shotgun cocking mechanism on Desolator. She aimed at her target, squeezed the trigger, firing a burst of pink light at it.

The magical shot flew at the robot and was about to hit until the visor on the robot's head turned red. The shot dispersed when it was two meters away from the robot.

Amu was also in a panic at seeing one of her attacks rendered useless. _'First physical weapons don't work, now magic doesn't. He has two types of shields then. One for regular attacks and one for magical ones.'_

Amu mentally announced, _'He has two types of shields. One for regular attacks and one for magical attacks. It's impossible to beat him.'_

Suddenly, icicles were shot at the robot from its right side. Though they didn't affect him, they caught his attention. He looked to see it was Mizore who fired them.

Mizore mentally announced, _'Even so, Riiko and Night still haven't left the building. We have to protect their rear long enough to get them out of here. All we need to do is attack with magic when he shields against physical attacks and vice versa when he shields against magic.'_

All teams nodded and went to work. Ruby continued giving sniper support, Dante did what he could to distract the robot from on top of it, Kurumu and Amu provided aerial support, while Trish and Yukari provided ground support.

Mizore ran in front of Yukari and Trish and created a wall of ice that spread from the entrance of the comm. Tower to the unfinished wall behind them that was still standing. Kokoa, Tsukune and Lowe took cover behind the wall and provided small arms fire. Kokoa with her pistol, Lowe with his M-16 and Tsukune with his HK33.

Just as the formation was formed, out of the doorway came Riiko, helping Night walk.

The pilot didn't want to prolong the battle and walked backwards a few distances, swiftly raised the left arm over the robot head and managed to grab onto Dante with the left hand. Holding the demon slayer in the left hand, the pilot shouted, "Perish!"

Suddenly the twin main guns of the torso fired at the same time sending two large bullets towards the communication tower. It didn't help that it left a red and purple spiral trail as it flew. The bullets hit, and the tower was shattered by the blast, sending it crumbling down on itself as debris flew in all sides.

Yukari yelled in dismay, "RUBBYYY!"

Ruby however, flew out of the falling tower just in time, causing them to be relieved until the pilot faced the head at her and fired the twin, head mounted lasers. She evaded the first laser but was shot down by the second one. In fact, the bright blue beam cauterized her body in half from the torso down.

They all saw with wide eyes what had happened but couldn't react in time as the pilot suddenly aimed the right arm at the awestruck units behind the wall of ice.

Lowe saw it and yelled, "INCOM—"

Too late. The heavy gatling gun fired off round after round at them. In the split second before impact, Kokoa managed to turn around and push Night all the way to the wall, knocking him out, while diving, grabbing and shielding Riiko in the process. However, when the shells hit them, Kokoa's back took the brunt and was heavily burned. The vampire fell on top of Riiko, the flesh and bone of her back, completely burned and exposed.

Trish wasn't able to leap out in time and was sent flying to the wall along with her newly severed right leg.

Yukari suffered worse, having half her body, from the right shoulder to the left hip, blasted apart before being strewn to the wall from impact.

Mizore was sent flying to the remains of the comm. Tower with a broken left arm, and a severed right foot. It didn't help that when she hit one of the broken walls, she hit a sharp piece of scaffolding. It pierced through her back and all the way through her stomach and out the other side, leaving her hanging on a bloody makeshift pike.

Tsukune and Lowe were sent flying to the unfinished wall in the back, unconscious, but badly wounded from the pieces of burn marks on their faces as well as the shrapnel sticking out of their chests.

All of this after the two seconds the robot fired a stream of shells from its 105mm three-barreled gatling gun.

Kurumu was shocked seeing the destruction this robot could do when the pilot gets serious. She on instinct aimed at the robot only for the piloted machine to throw Dante at her, knocking her out of the air and down on the ground. When both her and Dante landed hard on the ground, the robot aimed the left hand on them and fired the machine guns at them. The bullets pierced through them till they were full of holes on almost all parts except their heads.

The pilot turned the head and looked at a fearful Amu. "Next."

Amu was all alone facing another giant robot. But this one had a pilot in it making it smarter and more capable. To make matters worse, her team had been shot down in a most devastating way. This form of shock and awe was not something she was prepared for.

Amu shook in fear as she stared down the robot. Even Ran inside her Humpty Lock said, "Amu-chan. We could really die this time!"

Amu clenched her gun tightly and aimed at the robot. "I know Ran. But it's not yet over. We can still live." Her face settled into a cold calculating stare. "All of us."

Amu dropped down to the ground and as soon as she landed on her two feet, she said, "Miki, I need you."

Miki went to the humpty lock and switched with Ran putting Amu in her Amulet Maverick form.

The pilot aimed the left arm at her. Amu noticed this and pulled out a grenade and her M16. _'I only have a few seconds to save myself and what's left of my friends. Fighting is out of the question. I must find a way to distract the pilot and heal my friends with the healing shot. But to do those things, I must find a weakness I can exploit. I don't know, how many people are really piloting it or if it has any weaknesses to begin with. No it has one. It's electronics, namely the sensory electronics. His field of vision seems to be limited against lightning or cold objects as Trish and Mizore-san proved. But is it really his weakness? I need to test it.'_

Amu quickly put the M-16 in her left hand while gripping the grenade with it. The two objects turned blue and fused into a blue M16 with the gun barrel, large enough to project grenade rounds instead of bullets.

Amu quickly fired a shot into the ground 2 meters away from the robot just in time as the pilot fired the M2 machine guns.

Amu on instinct ducked and rolled to the right, evading the bullets by mere millimeters.

At the same time, a 42 feet tall wall of ice rose up from the ground around the robot. To make matters worse, the ice prison was conducting a strong field of electricity as well, sending short pulses of electricity to the robot every second.

The pilot's monitor and systems began malfunctioning. "An EMP field? Is that what the shot made? She's clever."

Amu knew that it wouldn't hold him. So she quickly changed Miki with Su, transforming into Amulet Torniquet. She ran first to where Ruby was and shot at Ruby. The Witch suddenly recovered, her body fully restored. Ruby sat up and said, "I'm alive? How?" she saw Amu and said, "Amu, You did this? Is this your power?"

Amu replied, "Ruby, go find Kurumu and Dante-san. The shield I put up against the pilot won't hold forever."

Ruby nodded and ran over to Dante and Kurumu's location while Amu ran to the unfinished wall where Yukari, Tsukune, Trish and Lowe's mangled bodies fell.

She fired a shot each at them, causing them to recover at full strength.

Tsukune shook his head a little and remembered what just happened. "I thought I was done for. What happened?"

Yukari looked around and noticed the ice wall around the robot and said, "Wow! How did that happen?"

Amu told them, "The shield I erected won't hold very long. You should all go while I heal the others."

Lowe nodded and said, "Who else is down?"

Amu replied, "Mizore-san, Riiko-san, Kokoa-san, Dante and Kurumu-san. Ruby-san is rescuing Dante and Kurumu-san as we speak. Someone also needs to find Night."

Tsukune stood up and said, "Okay. We'll fall back. Lowe, take Yukari and Trish back to the chopper. I'll go find Mizore."

Trish quickly took Yukari in her arms and ran back to the riverside. Lowe stood up and followed her.

Tsukune went to Amu and said, "Amu, I need you to help me heal them. We're are they?"

Amu replied, "I don't know. But Kokoa was the closest to you. She couldn't have gone far."

"HELP!" Riiko cried from underneath Kokoa.

Tsukune and Amu quickly ran to the source of the sound—just outside the remains of the comm. Tower. Amu quickly saw Kokoa's state and without hesitation, shot at the girl, reviving her to full strength. Kokoa woke up with a start and sat up. Amu helped her up to her feet as Tsukune helped up Riiko to hers.

But as they took up their time, the ice wall around the robot began to crack.

Tsukune told Riiko, "Find Night and run to the riverbed."

Riiko took a few steps forward and began looking for Night. While she did that, Tsukune hollered out, "Mizore! Where are you!"

Kokoa smelled blood coming from the rubble of the comm. Tower. She said, "Someone's over there."

Tsukune, Amu and Kokoa ran to the source of the smell and saw Mizore skewered on the makeshift pike.

"Mizore!" Tsukune yelled as he ran to her. When he reached her, he carefully placed his hands on her shoulders. Mizore winced feeling his hand on her.

Tsukune was about to pull her out until Amu said, "Don't touch her yet. Cut off the pike holding her up first so you don't injure her further."

Kokoa went to the scaffolding behind Mizore and grabbed it with her bare hands. She rent it in two, allowing Mizore to fall into Tsukune's arms.

Tsukune gently knelt down holding her and Kokoa and Amu went to Mizore's back and pulled out the remaining scaffolding from her. Mizore vomited some blood on Tsukune as Ruby entered the scene carrying Kurumu and Dante.

Tsukune gently laid Mizore on the ground and Amu quickly shot her, reviving the Yuki Onna.

Ruby laid Kurumu and Dante down on the ground and Amu shot them both. They quickly got up, fully restored. And just in time as the ice wall around the robot came crumbling down.

Amu returned to normal as the robot walked to them. Mizore quickly made an ice wall tall enough to block the robot.

The pilot aimed the right arm and fired a sweeping stream of shells, obliterating the ice wall. But with the ice wall gone, so were the targets behind it. "They couldn't have gotten far on foot." He pressed a few buttons on his computer panel and his sensors picked up a huge heat signature across the river. The C-2 Greyhound was about to leave.

As the plane quickly rose to the sky, the robot locked onto it and aimed his missiles at it. He pressed the button for fire but instead of firing, his robot shut down, the torso bending over as the visor on the head lost it's light.

"Warning. Heat level exceeded. Powering down." Said the monotone voice of his computer.

"No way! How could you power down? You're letting them get away!" Said the pilot. He threw his helmet at the computer screen and said, "Work you useless piece of junk!"

But to no avail. The robot did not start up and the C-2 Greyhound flew to the sky, heading back to Japan.

* * *

8:45 A.M.

Kazakhstan Airspace

The mission complete, the C-2 Greyhound flew as fast as it could to Japan while keeping under the radar of the local military. Though it flew hard as if being pressured and chased, the crew, seated around a table in the hull, was relaxed and at peace, glad their lives were still intact.

"YAHHOOO!" Yelled Kurumu as she gripped Amu in a fearsome hug. "Thank you Amu-chan, you saved the day!"

Amu was unable to speak considering the position she was in. So Riiko spoke out for her. "If you keep holding on like that, she can't speak at all."

Kurumu, now embarrassed at what she was doing, let go of the pink haired girl.

Amu made a sigh of relief and said, "Your boobs nearly crushed me to death there." _'Maybe I shouldn't grow mine that big. Tadase-kun could get killed by those things.'_

Kurumu chuckled in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. But that was awesome what you did back there. What were those powers you showed?"

Amu replied, "They're manifestations of my heart's desires to become different—my would be selves. But I'm more curious of everyone else's. What were those powers you showed?"

Riiko replied, "It's a bit confusing but she said she was a succubus. They are demons that prey on human men to eat their souls."

Amu's eyes widened. "What?"

Tsukune chuckled and said, "Don't worry. Kurumu isn't like that anymore. She's one of us now. But I guess we should introduce ourselves better now that we have the time." Seeing Riiko, Night, and Amu's curious faces, he continued. "Me, Kurumu, Kokoa, Yukari, Ruby, Mizore and Moka-san are students from Youkai Academy. It's a school to teach youkai of the earth to coexist with humans."

Night replied, "Coexist?"

Yukari replied, "Humans and youkai don't really live together and are normally enemies. So the school was built to create a world of peace."

Riiko's and Night's faces lit up with amazement. Amu on the other hand was left in shock. To her, such things usually came from an anime she watched or game that she played in Yaya's house once.

Amu asked Yukari, "I see. So all of you are youkai?"

Mizore replied, "Not all of us. Tsukune is human. But because of certain events, Moka-san bit him and gave him vampire blood to keep him alive."

Amu nodded and said, "So you're saying Moka is a vampire and Tsukune, a half-vampire. Then, Kokoa, being Moka's sister is also a vampire right?"

Kokoa nodded.

Amu continued, "How about Ruby and Yukari-chan? What youkai are you?"

Ruby replied, "Yukari-chan and I are witches. We have the power to control and use magic as our specialty."

Riiko then asked, "How about you Mizore-chan? You used some ice magic before? Are you also a witch?"

Mizore shook her head and said, "I'm a Yuki Onna. Meaning I can use powers related to water and ice. But Yukari and Ruby, being witches, can expand their magic to other fields such as fire, wind, and alchemy."

Kurumu added, "Witches are one of the few races of youkai that are excellent in magic. My race however is focused on seduction so most of my powers lean there."

Riiko nodded and said, "So that's why you were able to put them in a trance." She faced Trish and Dante, wondering what race they were.

Trish knew what was on the teenager's mind. "I'm a different form of youkai. I'm a demon from the hell gate."

Of course, the Youkai-gumi and Amu were surprised to hear this.

Night asked Trish, "So why did you turn away?"

Dante smugly said, "That would be my doing. I led her down the right path in life."

Trish replied, "You sure you want to say that Dante?"

Dante retorted, "Oops. Can't get caught there. To put it simply, she decided to turn away from her master called Mundus after she discovered she had feelings other than hate." He put his elbows behind his head and said, "As for me, I'm the son of Sparda, the demon who turned away from the hell gate and fought for the humans. I'm also half-human myself."

Amu said in surprise, "You're the son of that man?"

Dante replied, "Yep. The guy you read about is my dad. He wasn't the best guy in the world, but he's the kind of guy you'd love as a hero and hate as a man. Doesn't help that that my mom was the hottest woman in the village at the time."

Everyone else sweatdropped hearing that.

Yukari turned to Riiko and Night and said, "How did you guys get involved in this? Both of you have almost no experience fighting demons desu."

Night replied, "I'm a robot doll that Riiko bought off the internet for ¥100,000,000."

Riiko put a hand on his mouth and said, "Ahhh, he's just joking. He's such a kidder right Night?"

Kokoa, deadpanned by teenager's bad attempt at hiding things, said, "You really bought him off the internet? Why?"

Riiko sulked as she said, "I was feeling a bit lonely so when I saw the ad on the internet, I bought him and ended up with a debt of ¥100,000,000. But it also turns out that he's a main key to opening the Hell Gates. So I have no choice but to protect him from the debt collectors and Sebastian Jenkins."

Yukari cried anime tears after hearing the teenager's story while Amu thought, _'That's misfortunate. The crazy girl shouldn't have bought him off in the first place. But since she and Tadase are the same, Tadase could also be lonely inside. I should call him as soon as possible.'_

Lowe, feeling left out, said, "Anyways, our terminator over here needs some repairs. All that lead hasn't messed up your systems…yet."

Night replied, "I'll be fine. It's just a few shots. Nothing vital was hit anyway."

Lowe answered, "Well, beats getting shot down by the bad guy's own gundam."

Trish asked, "What was that thing anyway? I've heard about manned robots but nothing like that."

Lowe replied, "From the looks of it, must be an experiment. You know how these science gooks keep these things classified."

Trish replied, "Such as Lasers of that caliber? Or those main guns at the chest area? It even has a force field that shields against magic and physical attacks."

Suddenly, Tony Thompkins entered the room from the cockpit and said, "What kind of robot did you see?"

Trish replied, "It was at least 38 feet tall. It had a large three-barreled gatling gun on the right arm. It also had three M2 machine guns mounted on the left arm. The torso carried two large cannons on each side of the chest that fired large caliber bullets that left a red and purple spiral light while in flight. It also seemed to carry a missile rack in their as well but on its head were two mounted lasers that fired a blue beam of light."

Tony replied, "They've built it…" seeing their confused expression, he replied, "That was a battle mech type 'Jannisary'. Back during the Cold War, there was a russian plan to build a manned robot capable of plowing through from Moscow all the way to British Isles. It needed to be equipped to topple bunkers, tanks, planes and personnel while withstanding heavy damage. They called it **Project Jannisary**."

Trish crossed her arms and said, "Guess we know who built it. How do you know about it though?"

Tony answered, "I was the one sent on a mission to destroy the project when it was moved to Vietnam. We blew up the machine while it was still in parts, but the scientists we rescued along the way held on to the plans and brought it back to the U.S. Years later, we found out those plans were missing right after the scientists died in a 'car accident' after work."

Dante chuckled. "Oh man. This gets better and better. So what can we expect from the thing aside from the obvious anti-monster upgrades?"

Tony replied, "The cannons you mentioned are called **Heavy Gauss Rifles**. It fires a heavy incendiary round using an electromagnetic system built in the gun. The mounted lasers were **Extended Range Particle Projector Cannons** or **ER PPC** for short. They're strong enough to melt through a ton of armor in a single hit. The missle racks were Long Range Missle variant 5 or **LRM-5**s. They're capable enough to knock down fighter planes. As for the gatling gun, it was a modification to produce a heavy machine gun using tank rounds to take down armor as well as bunkers. The M2 machine guns were the solutions to personnel. In other words, it's a walking fortress."

The whole task force sighed. They didn't need to understand the many jargons to know that this thing was powerful.

Tsukune however decided to look on the bright side of things. "It's powerful. But at least we know its weaknesses now. With the time we have, lets train hard guys. Together, we'll defeat this thing and anything Sebastian Jenkins throws at us."

Dante laughed and said, "Sure we will tough guy. Let's just not lose our heads over this."

* * *

And that's it Boys and Girls. See you next chapter!

Barkeep: Hold on a sec… they're fighting robots now? What's next, a god from another dimension?

Of course not. They can't handle that kind of firepower. Let's keep it in perspective. Anyway, this should do it for this chapter. Expect more slice-of-life plus skirmishes and a banana peel in a massage parlor.

Barkeep: Ughhh...I don't even wanna know. Let's just end here and read Yandere Kanojo.


	8. Secret Mission 08: Blood Money

Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

* * *

A/N: Hey everybody! It's been a while since I've updated.

Barkeep: You ditched us! I thought you were my friend!

Easy now…Just put down the knife…JUST PUT IT DOWN!

Barkeep: GRAAAHHHHHH!

(5 minutes later…)

Now that our favorite barkeep is sleeping with the fishes-I-mean-with the witches…ah crap, his cadaver is crapping itself. While I finish cleaning this up and get a new co-host, you can explore more of Dante and company's new life. Last time I checked, they just barely came out with their lives after attacking Sebastian Jenkin's base in Romania.

Boy did they get a surprise out there. Anyway, without further ado, I give you….

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 08:**_ Blood Money_

_

* * *

_

9:00 AM

Seiyo Academy, Japan

* * *

The C-2 Greyhound had reached Japanese airspace much earlier than expected. With clear skies and no signs of danger, the plane slowed its flight and opened its rear hatch.

Amu, dressed in her Amulet Spirit form, walked towards the edge of the hatch and gazed at the world below.

'_From up here, Seiyo Academy looks really small. As do the rest of the world around it.' _Thought the pink haired girl.

She and her friends had just cheated death in Romania and were exhausted from so much tension and bloodshed. After a hard morning of fighting, the rest of the team chose to rest. Amu didn't.

She made it her point to still go to school. After all, Tadase and the guardians were there. She wanted to see the friends she dearly missed and the school she had grown to love.

The wall speakers crackled to life. "Hinamori-san, we're about to pass over Seiyo Academy. Jumping now would be a good time don't you think?" said John Tobias.

Amu stepped onto the edge and let her weight carry her forward. About halfway out the plane, she kicked off and skydived for Seiyo Academy.

The cold atmosphere bit at her flesh but she endured and spread her arms and legs wide to gain balance.

The wind however, didn't slow her descent so she maneuvered carefully until she finally landed gracefully on the academy's rooftop.

She heaved her lungs to breath the much warmer air and stood up as she relieved Ran of her duty and returned to her school uniform.

Amu walked to the emergency staircase and began descending to the lower levels.

Su said to Amu, "Homeroom is about to finish Amu-chan."

Amu replied, "I know. That can't be helped anymore." _'However there's another problem I need to deal with. I've been gone the whole night and early morning. Aside from the guardians, Okaa-san and Otou-san are worried sick at this point. I need to call home and tell them another excuse.'_

Ran then piped out in surprise, "AHHH! We left Ikuto and Yoru at the house!"

Amu didn't think twice and ran down the stairs and into the third floor. She went to the girl's bathroom and hid in the stall as she pulled out her phone and looked for a certain number.

After making a few dials, she placed the phone to her ear and heard an older woman's voice on the line. "Hello? Amu-chan?"

"This is Sanjou, Yukari right?" She asked, hoping it _was _Hoshino, Utau's manager.

The older woman answered, "It's been a while! Why the sudden call Amu-chan?"

Amu replied, "Sanjou-san, you're the most capable person and only one I can count on. I need you to tell my parents that Utau-chan called me over for a sleepover party to help create her latest album."

Yukari Sanjou was a shrewd woman and careful about weighing options. But she was also enthusiastic, self confident and loyal, able to deliver results regardless of the circumstances. "Ah, wait a minute." Amu heard yelling noises in the background and a man's hurried reply. No doubt it was Yukari reprimanding someone in the studio she was in. Soon after, Yukari returned to the phone, "That's a strange request. Why do you need me to lie to them?"

Amu answered, "Because Me and the guardians have been looking for Ikuto the whole night. We didn't know anything about Easter or why he was involved, so we wanted to ask him directly."

Yukari replied, "That Ikuto, making even you do reckless things. You should just give it up Amu-chan, he has the nasty habits of a stray cat." She sighed and continued. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to pass the message. Actually, Utau-chan has been looking for him too." Amu heard more voices in the background before Yukari replied, "I have to go Amu-chan. Thanks for calling. You should also call Utau-chan. Bye!"

With that, Amu shuts the phone and says, "Now that that's out of the way, I'll head into class."

Leaving the stall she made her way to her classroom, unaware that Yaya was in the stall next to her, relieving herself and unwillingly, becoming the witness to Amu's alibi.

Yaya was beginning to worry about Amu's behavior.

As soon as Yaya finished using the stall, she walked out and said to herself, "Amu-chan, what's happening to you?"

* * *

Time flew by for Amu until it was home economics class. They had been assigned to create blueberry cheesecakes. Much to Amu's surprise, they were grouped into pairs and their partners evaluated their work and vice versa.

The pink haired girl happened to be paired with Rima and both were doing well. Amu churned the cheese and flour paste while Rima prepared the crust.

As Amu stirred the cheesy paste, Rima asked her, "Amu, did you watch the swimming competition last night?"

Amu calmly replied, "No. I was busy doing homework. And Ami wanted to watch the Mahou Sentai Baka Rangers show so I couldn't if I wanted to."

Rima's gaze suddenly sharpened. "I see. But the Mahou Sentai Baka Rangers show airs in the morning, not at night. Why would you lie about that?"

Amu carefully chose her next words knowing Rima was pressing hard this time. "Gomenasai. Its just that something embarrassing happened last night."

Rima poured and flattened the crust onto the bowl mold. "A pervert went into your room."

Amu blushed and stuttered, "Ho-how…"

Rima faced her and said, "It was written all over your face. I heard the news about a roaming panty thief in your area and it worried me. He didn't hurt you did he?"

Amu said, "No, he ran when I spotted him trying to steal my panties."

Rima sighed in relief, seeing Amu was okay. Amu however, sighed in relief that her cover wasn't blown.

As they finished preparations for the cheesecake, a student called out to Amu saying that Nagihiko was calling for her.

She went out of the classroom to see the young boy with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Ohayo, Amu-chan. Tadase is asking for an emergency meeting later. You should go this time." Nagihiko said, with clear modesty.

Amu sweatdropped. _'This time…he says. Is he already suspicious of me? Regardless, the emergency meeting must be about Easter's movements. But afterwards, they'll begin asking questions such as 'where have you been Amu-chan?' or 'Are you feeling well?'.'_

Nagihiko frowned seeing Amu's cold and calculating gaze. "Amu-chan, can you come with me for a second?"

The young bishounen took Amu by the hand and walked her to the Royal Garden. When they were inside the semi-greenhouse, Amu asked him, "Is something wrong with me Nagi?"

The young boy crossed his arms and said, "Amu-chan, you may have not noticed but, if you have such a serious look on your face, you'll scare away the birds."

Amu's eyebrows rose as she looked at the nearby birds pecking at the ground for food. And as Nagihiko said, her cold gaze scared the animals before they could eat breakfast.

Amu frowned a little but Nagihiko didn't stop there. "Amu-chan, Are you feeling well? Talking about it could make things a little easier."

The pink-haired girl replied, "It's not something I need to talk about."

Nagihiko shook his head and said, "Amu-chan, if it's worrying others, then it is something to talk about. If not your own parents, then at least us."

Amu didn't want to strain things further so she decided to give him what he wants. "For the past few days, I've been dealing with feelings I've never dealt with before. And I've been doing things I've never done before. Nagi, is it alright being this way?"

Nagihiko replied, "Amu-chan, I don't understand what you're getting at."

Amu shook her head. "It's okay. Ever since the black diamond incident, strange things have been happening around me."

Nagihiko replied, "Don't let it bother you. You'll just get headaches thinking about it."

Amu smiled and said, "Then I'll take an aspirin to forget it."

Nagihiko and Amu chuckled a little at their own jokes. Thankfully, Amu's mood lightened up after speaking to Nagihiko.

The pink haired girl smiled and said, "I can finally understand you Nagi."

"Eh?" questioned the boy.

Amu answered, "Before, I never understood how you were able to think of using things like Rima's chara change rope technique to produce results. But now that we think alike, I can see why you're able to. To see what a man sees on a hill, one must climb to his level."

Nagihiko was dumbfounded by Amu's share of wisdom. _'Amu really has changed. When we weren't watching, she became a completely different person. But how? What happened that she changed this much?' _He scratched his head and said, "You praise me too much. You're a lot better than I ever could be."

Amu replied, "We'll see."

The school bell rang, marking the end of the home economics class. Amu and Nagihiko walked back to their respective classrooms and continued their lessons.

After what seemed to be hours of listening to lectures, 3:00 PM came around the corner and the student body went home to play. Some stayed behind to wait for friends and talk about the day. Others, to finish what they started.

Amu sat in her seat around the round table in the Royal Garden. Seated at her left was Rima, next to her, Yaya. Next to the Ace was the Jack, Nagihiko and next to him, Tadase.

"Let's begin the meeting everyone." Tadase announced.

The young king talked about school matters like organizing events, certain complaints and anything school related. To his surprise, Amu made some rational and interesting answers during the meeting. Much to hers, Tadase asked her, "Amu-chan, have you heard anything about Ikuto's whereabouts?"

Amu replied, "I've heard nothing of the like. Is he causing more trouble?"

Tadase smiled, "No. But I get this weird feeling he might be close to you."

Amu inwardly sweatdropped at his reply, _'Maybe it isn't such a good idea to keep him at home. I'll have to find a place for him to stay before Tadase acts on his intuition.'_

Tadase then said, "Which reminds me, a group of men in black suits have been wandering around the city lately. They don't look very friendly so try avoiding them when you go home later." He exhaled and smiled. "I guess that's it. Thank you everyone for coming today."

Yaya exclaimed as she got off her seat, "Everyone! Let's go get some ice cream!"

Tadase replied, "That sounds like a good idea. Right, Amu-chan?"

Amu blushed and said, "Ye-yes. It's a great idea." _'Though I've changed so much, my feelings for him haven't. I must, really, love him that much.'

* * *

_

The ice cream parlor was packed full of Seiyo Academy Elementary School children. There was no seat that wasn't taken and much of the ice cream had been sold. It was amazing how popular the ice cream was.

Yaya exclaimed, "Let's all line up everyone." She took Amu by the hand and walked towards the long line to the counter.

Nagihiko and Tadase went to look for a table while Rima stood behind Amu and Yaya at the waiting line.

Amu spoke to Yaya, "Slow down on the sugar Yaya or else you'll make the dentist very rich, very soon."

The orange-haired girl replied, "No. Yaya loves the ice cream of this shop. It tastes soooo good."

Rima asked her, "Is this the only shop you eat ice cream?"

Yaya nodded and said, "I've tried all the other ice creams at school and at the supermarket but I think the best ice cream is made here."

Amu replied, "The maker must be very good." As she was about to talk, Amu heard her phone ring. She checked her pink cellphone and saw a new text message…from a sender named 'Lady'.

Amu opened up the message and read it.

* * *

-2/15/20XX 3:45PM-

-Sender: Lady-

-I heard you've been doing work for Dante. I'm glad to see another member on the team. I've also heard from Trish about your situation so if you like, I can help you out. I have a long list of odd jobs on my hands but I can't find the time to do any of them. If you can do the jobs for me, I'll pay you in return. You have my word. Are you interested? Please reply.-

-End of Message-

* * *

Amu returned her phone to her bag and thought about it as Yaya finally made it to the counter. She didn't know who this 'Lady' person was. She also wasn't sure how much worth her word was. However she didn't want to live in debt either. _'I can verify if she's telling the truth by asking Trish. But I have a strong feeling she's telling the truth. So if she is, what's holding her back from doing the jobs herself? Are they as dangerous as Dante and Trish's jobs?'_

"Amu-chan!" Yaya said with a smile while holding two cups of ice cream.

Amu dryly replied, "You're gonna eat all of that?"

Rima noticed the cups as well and shook her head as Yaya sat with the boys while Amu and Rima bought their cups of ice cream. Right after, they sat with the rest of their friends, ready to eat.

Rima took the first bite and to her astonishment, the ice cream was _heavenly_.

"It's so good!" Rima exclaimed.

Nagihiko took a scoop out of his cup and tasted it. "This really is good! I wonder what they put in it."

Tadase took a scoop out of his and was about to eat it until he accidentally dropped it on his shirt. "Ah, I seemed to have slipped."

Amu by reflex, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the stain on his uniform. "It's okay. This happens often."

Tadase, though slightly irritated huffed, "You don't have to go so far Amu-chan. I can take care of myself."

Amu withdrew the damp cloth and thought, _'It's why I'm doing this. Sometimes, I want to take care of you as well. But I guess you're just irritated with my dry words. I need to be more mindful of your feelings.'_

Lost in thought, she had forgotten her own feelings and bore a slightly sad expression that Tadase caught onto.

"Eh? Did I say something wrong Amu-chan?" Tadase said, panic in his voice.

Amu snapped to reality and replied, "I-It's nothing. I'm just…"

Yaya watched on as the drama unfolded. She couldn't help but internally squeal seeing the romantic banter going on between her two friends. Of course, her mischievous expression gave away her intent.

Nagihiko chuckled and said, "At this rate, they'll be kissing before they know it."

Both Amu and Tadase faced the blue haired boy and blushed as they looked away.

Amu responded, "It's different….Rima you agree right?"

Sadly Rima was already stuffing her face in with the ice cream. Luckily she hadn't lost all of her awareness and stopped to respond to Amu's question. "This ice cream is really addicting. Amu, you should eat it before it gets cold."

Amu sweatdropped and said, "Your support seems well placed."

As all the guardians ate their sugary treat, Amu carefully pulled out her cellphone, put it to silent mode, discreetly held it under the table and texted to the helpful 'Lady'. In a matter of seconds, Amu's cellphone vibrated—Lady's reply had just rung in.

* * *

The alleyway was dark and humid despite it only being after three in the afternoon. Five well built thugs in sleeveless shirts sat around a small bowl in the center with dices inside.

The one with the red bonnet and short beard said, "Sorry boys, it's my win."

The other thugs groaned. The one with a yellow bandana wasn't happy about that. "Heh, you got lucky."

The man in a blue cap retored, "Everyone gets lucky once. You just don't play too well."

The one with a pink headband and tanned skin replied, "Last round everyone then back to work."

The one with a black eyepatch took the dice and shook his hand. "Odds or even?"

As they placed their bets, a strange teen with blue hair, and gray clothes watches on from the entrance of the alleyway. He heard that things like this happen but never saw it in person…until now.

"Ikuto! Let's head back. Easter is still looking for us." Said his Shugo Chara named Yoru.

The blue haired teen turned to walk away until a large man with a green sweater stood in the way.

"Hey kid, see anything interesting down there?" the large man replied hoping he'd say no.

"It's none of my business." Ikuto replied and walked away. But the large man grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "I think we've got a problem kid. Let's take it down with the boys."

Without warning, he placed his other hand on Ikuto's shoulder and lifted him just above the ground.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Ikuto protested. To his dismay, his words mattered not to this orc-like brute that dragged him into the alleyway with the other thugs.

* * *

-2/15/20XX 4:02PM-

-Lady-

-Thank you Amu. You're a lifesaver. Here's the mission…There's a drug ring going around selling heroin, an illegal drug, in bundles by using ice cream as the medium of trade. They mix the heroin into the ice cream and sell it legally to unsuspecting customers. By doing this, their brand of ice cream is tastier, addicting and sells faster than other ice cream makers in the city. But they're a small business selling next to Hibiki's Firearms and no one suspects they're running drugs. My employer wants them to be exposed and eliminated from the trade. The drug ring's leader is named Sean Hashimaru. He's a British-Japanese man wearing a red bonnet and has a short beard. He's not hard to miss but he'll be armed. Be very careful and use lethal force if necessary.-

-End of Message-

* * *

From behind one of the windows around the dark alleyway, Amu watched on in horror at what was taking place. It seemed that Ikuto found himself in a lot of trouble.

"Ikuto…Why didn't you stay at home instead?" Amu muttered to herself. She pulled out her Nagant Revolver and screwed the suppressor on its barrel. Carefully peeking out the window, she saw Ikuto surrounded by the six thugs. From the looks of it, he didn't want to put up a fight, rather, if he did, he'd be easily outmatched and beaten to an inch of his life.

She took a step back into the dark room, she aimed her suppressed weapon at the thugs, wondering if she could take a human life.

Ikuto on the other hand, wasn't contemplating on such dark thoughts. Rather, he was thinking how annoying these men were and how it wasn't the best idea to peer into a dark alley while being Easter's most wanted.

The man with a yellow bandana pushed him back and said, "Hey kid, I'll tell you what, let's bet your life on it. If you win, we won't smash your emofag face."

Ikuto replied, "I've got nothing better to do. But your idea isn't fun either."

The man with a pink headband replies, "Look kid, you've got no choice. Now that you've seen us, there's no way we're gonna let you just walk right out."

But Ikuto stood unflinched and unamused. "That's fine. Climbing is much easier to do."

The man with a black eyepatch chuckles and says, "Getting a little cocky there kid."

The man with a blue cap stood behind Ikuto and raised his right hand to knock him out. But Yoru noticed it and yelled to Ikuto, "Behind you!"

Ikuto lunged forward, knocking down the man in the red bonnet. Unfortunately, the man in the green sweater was beside him. Yoru cringed at what came next.

Ikuto was tossed to a wall, the pain on his spine, burning from impact. As the young teen slumped to the floor, the thugs surrounded him and began mauling him without remorse.

The one with the yellow bandana got a hold of a piece of plywood and began smashing Ikuto's head with it while the one with black eyepatch grabbed a plastic pipe and began smashing Ikuto's gut with it.

Amu couldn't stand watching this happen. However, she could not bear taking another person's life with her gun. Demons were one thing. They were going to kill her. But what about human beings?

Ran noticed her hesitation and said, "Amu, Ikuto will die if you don't save him." Miki cut in, "Amu-chan, Ikuto needs you right now. You have to shoot."

Amu replied, "I can't do it. Ikuto could get shot by accident."

"AAAAHHHHH!" yelped Ikuto as blood flowed from the side of his left hip. A knife wound, courtesy of the man with the red bonnet.

"That's too far Sean." Said the man with the pink headband.

Sean replied, "What? He was asking for it. I ain't going back to jail cause of some kid ratting out on us. If it weren't for me, none of you guys would be here."

Amu's eyes widened in horror. Ikuto was bleeding, and from the looks of it, they wanted him to bleed MORE.

"To hell with it." Amu replied, the sound of death in her voice.

Sean reversed the grip on his knife to strike down Ikuto. "Nothing personal kid. You-"

A bullet passed through his head, his black blood splattering on Ikuto. The man, no demon, named Sean Hashimaru fell to the side like a ragdoll.

The other thugs could not believe what had happened. Suddenly the man in the yellow bandana fell, a bullet sent to his kneecap. "AAAAAHHHHH! AHHHHH!"

The man in the blue cap ran to pick up his comrade but fell to the floor as a bullet passed through crotch.

The last three thugs were about to run until a bullet found its way through the kneecap of the man in the green sweater, sending him sprawling to the floor. The man with the pink headband doubled back to the man with the green sweater.

"Leave him!" said the man with the black eyepatch. He too felt a bullet. It passed through his tailbone leaving him paralyzed on the floor.

The man with the pink headband pulled out a Browning Hi-Power and aimed at the window were Amu stood behind. But he was much too slow. A bullet passed through his crotch.

The man fell to the floor, writhing in pain the same way his comrades were save for their leader who no longer lingered in this world. They didn't know who was hurting them. Neither did Ikuto. The young teen was in pain and his eyes dilated from blood loss, but he was still alive.

Yoru quickly went to Ikuto in fear for his life. "Ikuto! Talk to me, tell me you're alive."

"I'll die soon if you keep yelling at me." He replied, much to Yoru's relief. _'What was that just now? Who saved me back there?' _He slowly stood up and looked at the window but couldn't see anyone there.

"IKUTO!" Yelled Amu from the entrance of the alleyway. She walked towards him while pretending to be oblivious. "Why aren't you home? Easter is still—" she saw the thugs in pain and said, "Wh-wha-what happened here? Did you do this, Iku-" before she could answer, Ikuto fell upon her, his weight overpowering her, sending them both to the floor.

"Wait a second you pervert. Get off me! What's going on here?"

Yoru went over to Amu and said, "Amu-chan! Help him, he's in pain."

* * *

Somehow, she managed to drag him back home unnoticed and with medical supplies. She couldn't help but wonder how she was going to tend to his wounds. She saw how Lowe stitched up the cuts she received from fighting in Romania but her lack of experience made her doubt her own confidence now that it was her turn to do the stitching.

Ikuto was already lying on top of Amu's bed with black trashbags woven together underneath him to prevent blood from staining the bed sheets.

"Ikuto, please lie on your right side so I can see the wound." Amu said as she put on disposable gloves.

Ikuto did as he was told and said, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Amu replied, "Try not to speak or you'll make the wound worse." She picked up a piece of cotton and began cleaning the spilled blood. After most of the bleeding stopped, she tossed the cotton in a separate trash bag and gave Ikuto a shot of Vodka.

"What's this for?" Ikuto asked.

Amu replied, "You'll feel less pain when you drink this. You still have one more to go."

Ikuto drank it down and Amu gave the second glass. He drank that down too. Despite hating its taste, He followed her orders nonetheless. In a few seconds, he began to feel a little tipsy and the pain in his side didn't hurt as much. Vodka seemed to be fast acting for his body.

With Ikuto lying down once more, Amu picked up her sterilized, threaded needle and carefully, but surely poked it through the skin of the open wound and began her first stitch.

Ran, Miki, Yoru and Su watched on with amazement as Amu sutured his wound without so much as a flinch.

"When did Amu-chan learn how to be a doctor?" Yoru asked.

Su replied, "From fighting dem-" Miki managed to place her hand on Su's mouth.

Ran quickly cut in, "Her Otou-san got a really bad cut once so Amu watched the doctor stitch it up."

Yoru replied, "The other one doesn't agree with you though." He faced Ikuto and asked, "Hey, it doesn't hurt at all nya?"

Ikuto replied, "Ouch. You could've hit a nerve."

Amu answered, "It'll actually hurt if I did." She finished tying up the first stitch and began the second one.

Ikuto for a short time gazed at her in amazement. She was different from the last time he saw her. Come to think of it, she was rather calmer. _'Those thugs were bleeding in non-vital places but they were still gruesome wounds. She didn't make a second look at them and avoided eye contact with the dead guy. She didn't even ask me why I was there in the first place.'_

The young teen asked Amu, "Why were you there, Amu?"

Amu replied, "I was saying good-bye to my friends at the ice cream shop. We had just eaten ice cream and were heading home."

Ikuto knew she was lying. _'The alleyway was behind the shop. If she needed to say goodbye and go home, she'd walk with them to the train station a few blocks away. So why?'_

Amu finished the second and third stitches rather easily. With the hard part done, she rubbed an antiseptic on the stitch, and taped a bandage over the closed wound. "I'm finished here. The wound will heal in at least 14 days so you should get a doctor to remove the stitches before it fully closes. Also, avoid getting it wet since it'll cause an infection. Other than that, if you just stay put and exert less effort, you won't risk reopening the wound."

Ikuto sat up and said, "What about my other wounds?" he fully removed his shirt and grabbed Amu's hand and placed it over his chest. "They gave me good beating awhile ago. Aren't you going to heal these ones as well, doctor?"

Amu blushed and removed her hand. "Those don't need my aid. Just hurry up and get some bed rest baka."

She quickly packed her 'surgical' equipment as well as the gloves she used into the separate plastic to be thrown and possibly burned. She also abruptly yanked out the interwoven trash bags from underneath Ikuto. Luckily, the teen wasn't thrown to the floor from the action.

Tossing it in with the disposable items, she tied up the plastic bag and stood up to throw it out.

Before she left the room she asked Ikuto, "Ikuto, why did you suddenly leave? You know Easter was after you…"

Ikuto answered, "Who knows…"

Amu looked at him with concern. "Ikuto, I know very little about you or about what went on between you and Tadase. But if you keep doing things like this, you'll remain alone in your own darkness, with no hand to reach out to."

Ikuto replied, "I never had helping hands. I only had to fend for myself and Utau. Things like friends come and go but never really stay when it counts. It's absurd."

Amu went to her chair and sat down, setting the disposable bag on the floor. She sighed and said, "Then the answer is simple, find reliable friends." Ikuto finally looked at her after hearing this. Amu caught on and continued. "Your problem is not that you can't solve your problems but that you can't trust others about it. Because of this, you take the burden. But eventually it wears you down, so you run away and live like a stray cat to escape it. But you're not escaping it. You're just reacting to it. In the end, the problem is still there. You're still the puppet, not the master."

Ikuto was stunned by her speech. His eyes widened slightly more after hearing this delicate flower, speak with a wise tongue.

However, Amu wasn't done yet. "I used to think being the Joker's chair and the responsibilities of life were troublesome and tiresome. It took away my time and energy. But eventually, I understood that it was something that defined me and brought me to where I am. Was it a heavy burden? Yes. It brought me down many times. But because I chose to fight with others who fought the same burdens, the burden of the Joker became bearable and light. I no longer needed to run away because I had faith that someone was there to become my sword and shield. Flesh Wounds build _character. _But allies strengthen _it_."

With that, she stood up, took the disposable bag and promptly exited the room, leaving an imprint on Ikuto's mind as she soundlessly shut the door behind her.

Su flew over to Ikuto and said, "I think Amu is just trying to tell you not to give up hope because it's worth fighting for."

Ran replied, "That's true. Hope and dreams are what Shugo Charas are made of. If you gave up hope, you'd become like the dazed kids who had their eggs turned to X-charas. The moment you give up hope, is the moment everything is all for naught."

* * *

Amu closed the lid on the metal trash can outside her home. "There. The house is completely clean."

With no one around outside, she sighed in relief that the worst was over. But the events earlier that afternoon began to settle in. She remembered having shot those thugs down and killing one of them on the first shot. Looking at her hands, she remembered the feeling of holding that pistol and pulling the trigger. _'That was the first time I've killed another human being. I let my rage and worry get the best of me and killed a man all to pay my debt. Even if it was self-defense, I did something…horrible.'_

Considering a teenage boy's life was about to be taken, she was grateful to have defended him. But considering that she was contracted to stop the drug dealers by any means necessary, her gratitude seemed questionable.

Amu had every right to worry. But she couldn't afford to show it. Too many people were already involved and she was in this far too deep.

She walked right back inside her house and an idea popped into her mind. "That's right. Ikuto doesn't have a spare change of clothes." _'I'll need to dump his old ones now that they're stained with blood. And after that, I have to find another place for him to stay. Being here is too risky as it is.'_

She was about to run upstairs when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Who could that be?" she asked to no one in particular. Turning on her heel, she went to the front door, opened it and saw that it was Utau Hoshina, the younger sister of Ikuto.

"U-Utau-chan? Why are you here?" _'She must have come looking for Ikuto!'_

Utau replied, "Amu, where's Ikuto?"

Amu sweatdropped at the reply. _'She really was looking for Ikuto.' _Letting her calm demeanor take over, she replied, "I haven't seen him lately. But I thought I did see him on the way to school."

Utau, being a very logical girl, knew that Ikuto was chasing her riva…er…best friend. So for him to walk around stalking her school was something that Ikuto would definitely do. However, she had a strong, intuitive mind and had a strong hunch Ikuto was very close to Amu.

"Amu, can we talk for a little while?" the blonde with pigtails asked.

Amu nodded and they walked a few blocks down the road and stopped over a slope of grass overlooking the river that separated a section of the city. Amu then promptly asked, "Utau-chan, if it's about the favor I asked Sanjou-san. I'm really sorry."

Utau replied, "No, it's my fault. I wasn't paying enough attention to him so he went off on his own again."

Amu asked Utau, "Utau-chan, tell me why is Ikuto working for Easter?"

Utau sighed in disappointment. "Our family was dragged into Easter's problems. It's our concern for the most part, but Easter contained it only to our family Amu."

Amu noticed the look Utau was giving her. It was a gaze that said 'for your own good stay away'. But Amu wasn't the same person she was before. She wouldn't give up this time.

"Utau-chan, you can't tell me that you're blind. Easter, harmed many of my friends and many more people. Of all people, you should know, Easter hasn't done anything to contain the problem only to you. I'm not arrogant enough to say I can solve your problems, but I want to know what's going on so that I can help you get Ikuto out of Easter." Amu said with finality "All I know right now is that you and Ikuto are siblings…your different family names a result of something called divorce right?"

Utau's eyes widened for a moment. "Yes. That's right." _'She's sharper than usual. It's like Sanjou-san said, she's completely different.'_ Keeping her composure, she answered. "Ikuto took my father's last name while I took my stepfather's. My real father, was like Ikuto, a violinist who loved what he did. He was supposed to be the head of Easter but my grandfather didn't like that a violinist was marrying his daughter. I guess he was scared what would happen to the company and my mother's future. But it didn't stop her from marrying him. However, after some time, he left us, and ran away from home. So my mother remarried the current director of Easter-Hoshina, Kazoumi."

It was getting clearer to the pink-haired girl. "So why didn't Ikuto's last name change?"

Utau replied, "I don't know. Ikuto keeps me out of the family disputes to protect me. But I worry about him. He might get into serious trouble one of these days."

Amu 's gaze became distant as she began thinking seriously. _'It's just a hunch, but Ikuto kept his last name because he still believes his father is still out there. Given the chance, He'd go out to look for him and bring him back. But that's just his motive for why he's hunting the Embryo for Easter. The main problem is that Utau's mother has been held hostage by the director of Easter. She must have been used as leverage to get Ikuto and Utau to do everything he says. If I can talk to their stepfather, I can definitely stop Easter's plot. But something still bothers me about the situation…I still haven't heard Tadase's side of things. I'll have to ask him soon.'_

"Amu?" Utau asked her dazed friend.

Amu faced her friend and said, "Thank You Utau. I at least know a little of what's going on."

Utau smiled and said, "I should be thanking you. Being able to talk about it somehow makes me feel better."

With the mood relatively lighter, Amu's cellphone suddenly rang. Another text message.

She checked her phone and saw that it was Lady who texted.

* * *

-2/15/20XX 5:13PM-

-Lady-

-Amu, you did a great job. That was another demon we needed to kill. My employer, an INTERPOL agent, would like to thank you for eliminating the drug ring leader. As a reward, he'll give you the bounty placed on Sean Hashimaru's head. Go to the Seven Eleven a block away from your house. Ask for the _Running Errand_. -

-End of Message-

* * *

Amu was surprised by the message. In her blind rage, she didn't notice that black blood was spilling from Sean's head.

'_Thank God. I didn't kill another human being.'_ The pink haired girl sighed in relief and put away her phone. "I have to go now Utau-chan. I'm picking up an errand in the convenience store."

Utau nodded and said, "We'll meet again Amu."

Amu and Utau parted and went their separate ways. While Utau headed home, Amu walked to the Seven Eleven nearby.

It was walking distance so in about ten minutes, she arrived at the convenience store and quickly went to the counter and asked the man, "I'd like the Running Errand please."

The man at the counter looked confused for a moment until he gasped and said, "Y-you're the one picking it up?"

Suddenly a fat man dressed in the same uniform came out from the backroom and said, "Ah, the Running Errand. Keiji, give it to her."

"Yes sir." The man at the counter replied and pulled a slim brown package from underneath the cash register and handed it to Amu.

Amu took the package and knew that there was money inside.

The fat man said, "You can count it in the back room if you'd like."

Amu replied, "It's alright. I don't need to. Arigatou Gozaimasu."

She politely bowed and walked out as she stuffed the brown package into her pocket. "I better go and find a clothes store soon or I'll have to wash the blood off Ikuto's clothes."

"I wouldn't have anything to wear if you washed it." Ikuto said as he leaned by the entrance.

Amu jumped and yelled, "YOU FOLLOWED ME?"

Ikuto answered. "You took too long to come back so I went out to look for you. What did you buy?"

Amu replied, "It's nothing important. I just needed to get something for the house. Since you're already here, let's go find you some new clothes."

Ikuto asked, "You have that kind of money?"

Amu replied, "It's more out of necessity. I was going to use the money to buy myself some new clothes but yours are more important right now."

Ikuto said to her, "Oh. Then let's try that place." He pointed to a nearby clothing store across the street.

Amu and Ikuto walked there and began choosing some cheap but comfortable clothing that Ikuto could wear. Ikuto picked out a plain gray shirt and brown pants. Amu reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wad of bills from her 'salary' and paid the cashier.

Ikuto went over to Amu and said, "This is alright with you?"

Amu answered, "If it's a need, it takes first priority."

The cashier giggled a little after seeing the banter between this strange couple. Of course, Amu saw the woman's expression and went into a slight panic. "We're not a couple! Definitely not!"

Ikuto went behind the pink haired girl, wrapped his arms around her(much to her chagrin) and said, "Pardon my girlfriend here. She gets embarrassed easily."

The cashier smiled and said, "Not a problem sir. You're welcome to come back anytime."

* * *

Amu and Ikuto walked along heading home. Side by side.

"I'm never walking with you again!"

I mean, one ahead of the other. Amu was deeply frustrated and embarrassed that Ikuto did something like that in public.

'_That Ikuto…why does he tease me so much? It's not like we're a real couple. And besides, he knows I like Tadase. Ugh…sometimes I don't get him at all.'

* * *

_

After much brisk walking, Amu made it home. Just before she entered the house, she pulled out another wad of money from her pocket and handed it to Ikuto. "Here. Go over to the hotel nearby and use the money wisely and avoid heavy spending. This should be enough to last three days, food and drinks included. But if you really need to spend a lot, be mindful of how much you have left."

Ikuto took the money and said, "Whatever. I'll use it on DVDs or something."

Amu smiled and said, "Avoid the bad stuff okay? Then, Oyasuminasai."

She turned on her heel and entered her house, leaving Ikuto at the front door. He waited for a while until Yoru flew out the 2nd floor window and said, "We're leaving? What about Easter? They're still after you nya."

The young teen looked at the wad of cash in his hands and was deeply concerned for the pink haired girl. There was no way that the ten thousand yen in his hands were a part of Amu's allowance. In fact, the clothes she bought Ikuto were a little bit expensive. _'Amu's father only gives three thousand five hundred yen a week to her. Subtracting the amount of food and snacks she eats in a week leaves only one thousand yen. Even if she did save up the money to buy clothes, it would take more than three months to get this much money or a month if doesn't spend it at all. But she spent more than what she could save up right after she entered the convenience store…wait, she received a package from that guy at the counter after she said something. What was it?'_

Ikuto looked back in his memories to see read Amu's lips before she received that brown envelope. He played it over and over in his mind until he slowed down the memory a little and began lip-synching with Amu's lip movements.

"I'd…like…the…Running…Errand…please…" he repeated to himself.

Ikuto turned from the house's front door and said, "Yoru, let's go."

Yoru asked, "What are we doing Ikuto?"

Ikuto answered, "We're going have a chat with Amu's errand runner."

* * *

That night, Amu slept peacefully. She was blissfully unaware of anything else except the battles she fought that morning. But that would be set aside. She cleared her thoughts and slept like a log, the day's toil wearing heavy on her body.

Those ten hours of rest were well spent and well deserved.

But as night faded, morning crept in to start the new day. The anticipated sunrise would be beautiful this time and it would shine brighter than usual. But Amu didn't get that chance.

The cellphone on her desk rang, breaking the natural silence of the room.

Waking up once more, Amu rose from bed and rubbed her eyes. _'Yeah, Riiko called last night and said I should wake up early for training.'_

She walked to her phone and shut it off, making sure not to wake up her parents. She changed into a red track and field suit and pulled out from her closet, the traveling bags she'd prepared for the trip to Mahora Academy. With the bags slung on her back and shoulder, she pulled out the Nagant Revolver from her dresser and holstered it inside her track suit as her Shugo Charas woke up.

Ran said, "Let's go Amu-chan."

Amu nodded and stealthily walked out of her room, down the stairs, passed the living room and out the front door, where a black and white Nissan Crew waited.

She placed her stuff in the trunk and sat in the backseat, surprisingly next to Sendou, Yukari.

"Yahoo, Amu-chan. Are you ready for today?"

Amu replied, "Ready as I'll ever be."

Yukari smiled and said, "Okay. Let's begin the training. Riiko-san, let's go to Mahora Academy right away where everyone is waiting for us."

Riiko shifted gears and said, "Gotcha."

The car drove off to Mahora Academy, with its passengers excited and rearing to go.

Things seemed to be looking up…

...until a yellow taxi began tailing the Nissan Crew.

* * *

Did everyone enjoy this chapter? Anyway, now that I've cleaned up the mess the barkeep made, I'll introduce you my new co-host. Come on in. What was your name again?

(A short haired, redheaded girl entered the bar, her green eyes complimenting the two green ribbons tying her pigtails. Dressed in a long sleeved red coat, black boots and black stockings that ended two inches below her crotch, she gracefully sat by the couch.)

Girl: I'm Amatsu silly. Didn't I tell you earlier?

Oh, sorry about that. How old are you again?

Amatsu: Um, I'm 17. How about you?

I can't say. But I can tell you you'll have a lot of fun here. All you have to do is act cute, comment on what you think about the story and just be yourself.

Amatsu: Ehhhhh…okay. (She moves towards me and undresses her red coat.)

NO! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! (I dress her in the red coat.) Next time, come in more than just purple underwear underneath.

Amatsu: Okay Kaiser-san. Um, what's your favorite color?

No, you're not wearing blue lingerie. (Facepalm and sigh) This will be tough…


	9. Secret Mission 09: Believing in Magic

Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

* * *

A/N: It's nice to see you all again. Hehehe…this one came a little slow this time.

Amatsu: That's because you've become a lazy bum. You'll always be that way.

Hey, you're mean -_-

But I still love you dear. Anyway, this chapter will have many grueling training regiments for the entire cast of protagonists.

Everyone will learn how to wield power.

Amatsu: I guess we'll leave it to you then. Thank you once again for stopping by to read my master's fanfic. Make sure to keep your eyes 24 inches away from the screen. Also, do not read in the dark or you will damage your eyes permanently.

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 09:**_ Believing in Magic

* * *

_

5:32 AM

Mahora Academy, Japan

* * *

The black and white Nissan Crew arrived at its destination much earlier thanks to the lack of traffic that day.

"It was a good thing Riiko-san called in sick today. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a driver this morning." Yukari commented as they parked the vehicle.

Riiko shut off the car and all three girls stepped out breathing the cold, crisp morning air.

Amu went to the trunk and pulled out her bags. "Hey, Riiko-san, are you sure you're okay with skipping school? Aren't your other friends worried about you?"

Smiling sheepishly, Riiko replied, "Not really. My friends don't really worry about what happens to me and my parents left me in the care of my childhood friend. I'm completely fine."

It was then that Amu realized how abandoned Riiko was. _'She must have gone out on her own to prove to her parents that she could live alone. But her parents couldn't allow that so they prepared a safety net—the childhood friend. But I'm very sure that she hasn't told anything to that friend. Otherwise, we'd be followed very closely. But that raises another concern. Someone could be following us very soon. We need to cover our tracks.'_

Yukari suddenly piped out, "Hey Amu-chan, we're going to be training the whole day. Are you really sure you can be out today?"

Amu slung her traveling bags over her shoulders and said, "I already told my parents ahead of time that I was leaving early in the morning."

Yukari smiled and said, "Well, that settles it. Oh, we better hurry before Evangeline-san notices we're late. Let's go Amu." She pulled on the pink-haired girl's arm and ran forward with Riiko following after them.

They were relaxed in their pursuit of power and were unaware of what lurked around the corner just outside the city-wide campus. Only at the end of the day would they realize their folly.

* * *

On the outskirts behind Mahora Campus stood a large tent complex, it's cloth as green as the forest that surrounded it. This was the base of operations that the three girls walked towards.

Entering the barracks, Amu, Riiko and Yukari noticed the air of excitement in the room.

Waiting for them at the round table in the center was Evangeline, Trish, Night, Dante, Tsukune, Kurumu, Ruby, Mizore, Kokoa and to their surprise, a fully healed Moka.

It was the first time for Riiko and Amu to see the vampire known as Moka Akayashi. The vampire in question was beautiful with a supple and elegant figure; her pink hair, a soft contrast to her large emerald eyes.

Amu was amazed to see this beautiful teenager. _'Who is she? I've never seen such a beautiful woman before. Not even Utau-chan, Rima or Nadeshiko can match up. Are all vampires this beautiful, or is she the only one?'_

Riiko had roughly the same thoughts upon seeing the vampire. "You're Moka-san, right. I'm Riiko. Pleased to meet you."

Moka nodded and replied, "Likewise. I've heard a lot about you."

Riiko, Amu and Yukari sat down by the table. With all the members gathered, Evangeline was able to begin her conference.

The alpha vampire spoke, "So, how much do you want to become stronger?"

Tsukune replied, "A lot stronger than we are now."

He bowed his head in apology. "I'm sorry Evangeline. I need…we need your help. You're the strongest person in this room. I'll do anything to get as strong as you."

Despite the sullen expressions that the others had made, Evangeline on contrary, smiled. _'He's become more like my apprentice. But you'll soon come to understand the meaning of your own words.'_

Crossing her arms under her chest, Evangeline gave a slight grin. "I understand."

The team's spirits were lifted.

"However," Evangeline added. "I will not be kind. I will toss you into your worst nightmares. Do you still want to pursue this path?"

"Yes!" the team replied.

The alpha vampire took their words with seriousness. "Then I will be frank…you are all weaklings."

The youkai-gumi plus Riiko, Night and Amu sweatdropped.

"As you are now, it is a miracle that you even survived. You have much to learn and no time to do it. It is impossible." Evangeline finished.

"Impossible by normal means, right?" Dante answered.

"Don't take away the fun." She retorted. Returning her gaze at her new students, "So I will have to put you under the same crash course my first apprentice went through."

'_First apprentice?' _Moka thought with curiosity.

Mizore asked, "Evangeline-san, what kind of crash course are we going through?"

But Evangeline only smiled as she walked out the tent.

Trish stood up next and said, "For now, it looks like follow the leader."

* * *

They followed the Maga Nosferatu to a small, wooden cottage just a few meters away from the main campus. Like the tents, it was surrounded by woodlands that gave it a low light ambiance.

"I wonder what place this is?" Yukari asked to no one in particular.

Dante replied, "This is probably her house I think."

Up ahead, Evangeline opened the door and led them inside, allowing them to briefly see the modest furniture and style that the vampire maintained.

They gazed in admiration at the living space.

"You'll have plenty of time to look at things after." Evangeline said, snapping them to attention.

She led them to another door. Opening it revealed a set of stairs that led to the basement.

"I don't like the looks of this." Amu said, noticing the dark atmosphere that accompanied the new environment.

Ruby on the other hand, was ecstatic by the saturated magic that filled the room. "I can feel so much magic power coming from the basement."

Yukari replied, "It's like there's a powerful spell being constantly cast every second. What could be down there?"

They walked down the flight of stairs till they reached the basement. In the middle of the dull, empty room, stood what looked like a globe sized snow globe on a pedestal. But behind it, were five similar but much larger devices, interconnected via glass tube.

Standing next to the smallest device, Evangeline said, "Stand around the pedestal and I'll begin the training."

Riiko and Night swallowed hard, their gut feeling going haywire at the presence of the device. But as reluctant as they were, they complied and stood closer to the pedestal. Soon, Dante and Trish stood closer followed by Amu and the rest.

Evangeline placed a hand on the glass case and a large magic circle appeared beneath them. It glowed with an ethereal light. And before anyone could blink, it disappeared, and so did they.

* * *

Time passed so quickly that they didn't realize they were transported to a strange, circular stone pedestal with magical runes written on the bottom. If it weren't for the stone path that attached it to the main building, they would've been very worried.

They looked around with wide eyed wonder and saw they were surrounded by an endless blue ocean.

"What is this place?" Moka asked.

Evangeline replied, "This is my resort. I usually go here to relax but it also serves as a training yard." She walked passed the stone walkway, motioning the rest to follow.

As they stepped down on the solid stone ground of the building, Amu was very glad they weren't standing on a dangerous platform anymore. But as she looked around, she noticed how wonderful Evangeline's resort was.

It was a tall cylindrical structure several meters in height. There was a spiral staircase leading to a small cabana at the bottom. But at the top was a large stone yard with several interconnected, Romanesque pillars rounding around the tall pillar in the center. A little behind the centerpiece, stood a small stone gazebo with a set of stairs that led downstairs into another floor in the building.

Amu's Shugo Charas were so in awe, that they flew around just to gaze at every inch of the structure.

"THIS PLACE IS SO COOL!" yelled Miki.

"Loook! It's the ocean!" Ran yelled next.

Su chipped in, "We can relax here all day!"

Evangeline turned to face them and said, "Ah, I almost forgot to mention. You better prepare to be here all day. You can only leave once 24 hours have passed."

And with a unanimous cry, the apprentices yelled, "WHAAATT?"

Kurumu marched over to the Maga Nosferatu and pulled her up by the collar. "Tell us these thing earlier! Why only after an entire day?"

Evangeline suddenly glowed with a blue aura and in a second, Kurumu was frozen over, allowing the vampire to escape her grasp and gently float back to the ground.

As Mizore, and the rest of the group tried to thaw out their friend, Evangeline replied, "This place is like the Hyperbolic Time chamber of that TV show, Dragon Ball. 24 hours here, is equivalent to one hour outside."

Ruby suddenly cut in, "But a place like this has rarely existed in real life. Did you make this place?"

Evangeline replied, "Yes, a long time ago. The other five globes we've seen were the most recent ones. When you get strong enough, you'll be training there."

Riiko retorted, "That's very convenient." _'So if I learn magic, I can create places like this? Magic is really awesome.'_

Mizore managed to melt away the ice, allowing a very pale and shivering Kurumu to gasp out, "She's an ice queen too?"

Yukari replied, "Magical affinity is slightly different from natural affinity. You might be born from a fire attributed place, but magically, you could have a strong elemental affinity with water. In Evangeline's case, she seems to be closer to ice and darkness in magical affinity so magic in those areas is easier for her."

Amu was very curious at this point. "Yukari, do you know your magical affinity?"

The young witch replied, "I haven't gotten that far yet. But I want to know it too."

Dante stretched his arms out and said, "Well, let's not waste our time girl scouts. Heck, I'm pretty excited to find out mine as well."

Trish shook her head and said, "I thought by now you already knew it."

Dante faced her and said, "Gimme a break. You've got lightning up your sleeve."

Trish replied, "Dante, you're able to control time. That's more powerful than lightning."

It began to click in Kokoa's mind. _'Now it makes sense. There was no way he could've moved that fast during the last mission without controlling time. So why doesn't he use it so often?' _"Hey, if you could control time, why aren't you able to defeat Sebastian Jenkins."

Dante replied, "I can't always do that move. It gets really tiring after a while. Plus, he has an army of demons, really strong political connections, and just made us the bad guys on TV. Don't worry though. I've got a friend outside who's working with an informant to uncover more of the bad guy's bag of tricks. By the time we can fight this thing out, she'll find our guys and nail them for us to hammer down."

Evangeline cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. "Let's begin the training." Soon, one of Evangeline's dolls in a maid uniform came by and handed each of the team a wand.

"We'll start with the most basic spell to see your magical potential." Evangeline explained. "It's a simple fire spell. Wave your wand in a semi-circular motion and say these words—**practi, bigi, nar.**"

Evangeline demonstrated the spell using her finger. After chanting the words, a tiny flame appeared over her finger.

The rest of the team began to practice.

Yukari and Ruby had no difficulty and their wands became instant lighters.

Evangeline knew they would make it first. _'Well, they wouldn't be witches if they couldn't do at least that much. However, the others are a different story.'_

After two attempts, Trish also performed the spell. "How are you doing Amu?"

"I can't seem to do it well." She replied.

Closing her eyes momentarily, Evangeline thought, _'Her magical potential is average so it'll take much longer for her to perform the spell.'_

Dante lit his flame next. "Well waddya know. I should've learned this spell a lot earlier. Makes cave hunting so much easier."

Soon, Moka lit her flame though it seemed to glow much brighter than the rest. "I did it. Tsukune, look, I did it."

"That's great Moka." He replied. The new vampire made five attempts and on his sixth, was able to light a flame over his wand.

This caught Evangeline's curiosity. _'Oh? He can do it too. With enough determination, he'll be able to accomplish the beginner course in a month.'_

However, it seemed that Kurumu, Mizore, Kokoa, Amu, Riiko and Night couldn't do it no matter how much they tried.

"Hey, Mizore…you can use ice magic, what gives?" Kurumu asked.

Mizore replied, "A Yuki Onna isn't supposed to learn fire magic in the first place. It's just a waste of time."

Riiko on the other hand, just sighed. "I guess I'm not cut out for magic. What about you Night?"

Night replied, "I don't really get it but, since I'm a robot, I won't be able to do any spells."

Kokoa was not only unable to perform the spell, but she was frustrated that her 'reject-of-a-sister' was able to do it. _'If it was the real Moka onee-sama, she'd be able to do it. But why can that fake do it and I can't? I don't get it!'_

Amu tried and tried harder but to no avail. It seemed impossible for her.

Evangeline snapped her fingers and said, "That's enough. I know how to group you already. Those who passed, follow my servant to the pedestal. She'll take you to your training area."

Amu sighed after what she heard. "I'm part of the loser team."

"Hey! Who you calling a loser, you stuck up kid!" Kurumu yelled in dismay.

As the two groups separated, Yukari told Amu, "Amu-chan, hang in there okay?"

Amu nodded and Yukari's group was led back to the stone pedestal where they stood on one of the magic circles. It glowed, then the light disappeared and so did they.

Evangeline faced her remedial students and said, "That flame test was the most basic spell any mage learns in their lives. The reason you failed is because you either have low potential in magic or haven't properly adjusted to it. As punishment, you will go hunting for Utahraptors in one of my jungles. None of you will be able to come back until you kill a hundred of them each member."

"WHAT? Are you insane? How does that help with magic?" Amu yelled out.

But Evangeline's evil gaze shut down anymore outbursts from the pink-haired girl.

Evangeline's servant-doll came back and said, "Please follow me to the training area."

Kurumu smiled and said, "They're only dinosaurs. Well be able to kill them easily."

Riiko sweatdropped. _'It's not a one-size fits all though. I've never even seen a Utah-whatever.'_

But without anymore complaints, they followed the doll to the pedestal and were led to another magic circle. When they stood over it, light glowed and spirited them away.

* * *

The remedial team blinked as they looked at their new surroundings. It was a vast jungle as far as the eye could see. The air was saturated with a sort of mystic energy but it was cold and calming. Pterodactyls flew around in the sky while all sorts of animal calls could be heard. In the middle of all this was a two story, white adobe house of Mediterranean design with a stone pedestal full of magic circles on top of this house. Standing on this pedestal, the remedial team was once again in awe of the new ambience.

"Where are we?" asked Mizore.

"You're in the tropical training center." replied the doll. "My master has placed a restriction order on this circle until all of you are able to perform her task." The doll walked to the staircase leading into the house with the team following close by.

Entering the second floor, the doll told them, "There are beds in the 2nd floor and one bathroom. The kitchen, living room and armory are downstairs. You will not be able to enter the house until you have killed at least 50 Velociraptors."

The team sweatdropped after hearing that.

They followed the doll down another set of stairs and into the armory. Inside, there were stacks of metal crates and boxes full of equipment.

"Please choose only one weapon. It will be the only weapon you can use to complete your task. Killing using other weapons or methods will not be counted. Also, team kills will not be counted. Whoever deals the finishing blow claims the kill. Any other equipment you need you may take." The doll finished as it walked out.

Riiko put her hands on her hips and said, "Everybody, take as much as you need. We'll be here for a very long time."

Amu already had Desolator so she took a basic Rucksack and filled it with some medical supplies, rations and miscellaneous equipment. She then opened a crate to reveal a strange looking black gun. It was rather rectangular in design but it was a rifle nonetheless(Think the Tau Fire Warrior's pulse rifle).

Riiko took a backpack and opened a crate and saw a similar but shorter version of Amu's choice of arms. She took it felt how light it was. "It's almost like I'm holding nothing."

Kokoa took a small backpack and opened a crate. Inside was a two handed axe. "At least it's a weapon I'm used to." She took it, letting the familiarity sink in.

Night didn't really need anything from the armory as he was a robot. _'Riiko needs the equipment more than I do. I'll just take the extra load for us to share. There must be something here that I can use.' _He saw an unusually large crate and decided to check what was inside. _'What is this? It looks like a heavy machine gun.'_

And he was right. It was a large, belt fed, futuristic looking machine gun attached to a medium sized metal backpack(It looks like an Imperial Guard Storm Trooper Hellgun). He lifted it a bit and realized it wasn't as heavy as it looked. _'I'll be able to kill a hundred in no time with this.'_ So he took it like a child with a new toy.

Mizore put on a brown backpack and opened one crate to reveal another black rifle but one with a scope and a metal visor. Despite its lack of eyeholes, there was something strange about it. She put on the visor and noticed that she saw perfectly normal. The only other difference being the mini-map, on the bottom left of her sight, the HP and MP indicators that she could see over her friends heads, and other radar like jargons that made her feel like she was in a game.

"Wow. This is cool." The Yuki Onna said offhandedly. She decided to take it and the scoped black rifle.

Kurumu took a rucksack from the floor and filled it with snacks, some medical supplies and plenty of grenades.

"Kurumu-san, grenades are weapons too." Amu commented. "You can only take one."

The succubus unpacked the rucksack of grenades and frowned. "Tch. How are we supposed to kill them with only one weapon? Stupid loli."

She quickly opened a crate and saw a strange black pistol(It's like a Plasma Pistol that the Imperium uses.) "I'll use this then. I'll definitely show that vampire that I can be fierce too."

The team walked out of the armory and outside the safehouse.

"We'd better equip our black chokers. It'll make coordination much easier." Amu announced as she put on hers.

The rest of the team put on their chokers and readied their weapons as they marched through the forest.

* * *

The air was humid and hot. To make matters worse, most of the trees had large leaves that insulated heat.

"Why is it so hot out here?" Kurumu asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah. I'm really burning up too." Riiko added.

The trekked for a while until Mizore said, "They're just ahead."

As they readied their weapons, Amu noticed that Mizore was sweating a lot more than usual. _'I forgot that she's a Yuki Onna.' _"Mizore-san, look for a good sniping spot on the hillside. We need to see what we're up against."

Mizore nodded and trailed off to the right.

Riiko suddenly cut in, "While Mizore is looking for a sniping position, we should lay some traps here for when we fall back."

But before they could say more, they heard a loud, high pitched scream all around them.

They quickly stood back to back, vigilant and edgy.

"What's that sound?" Night said as he readied his heavy support gun.

Kurumu and Kokoa picked up the direction of the sound.

"It's coming!" they both yelled.

Soon enough, from out of the foliage, a large Utahraptor leaped out and landed in front of them. Though it was a reptile, it was covered in feathers down to the tail. Like a bird, it had three toes, one of which with a long dew claw. Its head was slightly elongated and covered with blue feathers. The eyes were faced forward and had a golden color to it. Its arms were also feathered but for some reason, it was slightly mutated in that it had reptilian hands with an opposable thumb and three other fingers.

Nonetheless, it bared its large teeth and charged forward only for Kokoa to slice its head in half with a brutal, vertical attack from her axe.

"I got first blood." Yelled Kokoa.

Then ten more leaped out of the foliage to surround them.

Kurumu aimed her pistol at one and pulled the trigger. A small, but fast blue fireball shot out and burned through the right kneecap of one Utahraptor, maiming its leg for good.

Without hesitation, Kurumu aimed the pistol at the head and put four more shots into the dinosaur's head.

Two other Utahraptors leaped at Amu who quickly aimed and fired, burning a hole through the the chest of one before leaping out of the way of the other. _'Blue flame shots? What kind of guns are these? But they will come in handy. 100 dead dinosaurs will be easier with this!'_

Riiko aimed her gun at the one that tried to attack Amu, and gunned it down, leaving it a heaping mess of burned meat.

But one Utahraptor jumped at her only for Night to quickly drop his weapon, then go behind the dinosaur, grab it in a suplex and throw him to three other Utahraptors. Amu and Riiko aimed at the dinosaurs and gunned them down.

Night quickly pulled up his heavy support gun aimed it at the remaining four, and fire away, gunning down three in a hail of blue fire. The fourth one managed to leap out of the way and open its mouth and launch a pink fireball at Kurumu. Unable to react in time, she took the hit and fell down, light burn marks on her body.

Riiko aimed at the Utahraptor and fired a shot to each kneecap. She walked towards it while it limped in pain. With the reptile on the ground, she aimed at the head and fired three shots to it, burning three precise holes in its head.

Seeing that the reptile was dead, Riiko ran to Kurumu and yelled, "Talk to me Kurumu-chan! Please tell me you're alright."

Kurumu inhaled deeply before saying, "It…it doesn't hurt anymore."

The succubus sat up and said, "I didn't get burned into ashes. What was that?"

The team sighed in relief before Amu said, "We still have to save Mizore."

Suddenly they heard sharp cries coming from the east.

"Mizore…" Kurumu uttered before releasing her wings and taking off into the direction of the dreadful noise.

"Everybody, we need to go." Night yelled out as he ran into the foliage, the rest trailing behind.

They ran forward, darting in and out of the tree line.

The cries became louder as they pressed forward. They knew they were close. But they didn't know if their friend was much closer.

When they managed to clear past the jungle, they arrived at the base of a tall, rocky mountainside with gentle slopes and crevices leading to the top. At the top, they could see a figure with a strange black gun.

"It's Mizore-san." Amu said.

But she wasn't the only one on the mountain. Climbing up the mountainside was a pack of Utahraptors.

"It looks like there's forty of them." Said Riiko. She then looked at Mizore and saw that the Yuki Onna was sniping them from her perched position. The sniper managed to shoot down five. But the Utahraptors kept climbing.

Riiko walked ahead and said, "I don't know where Kurumu is but we're in a good position to fight. We'll climb behind the Utahraptors and fight our way up."

"But that's suicide!" yelled Amu. "They have the advantage on us just in strength alone. If we climb up there, they will attack downhill and overrun us."

Kokoa replied, "So? We're still stronger than them. You can stay behind if you like. I'm going up there and I'm going to kill them."

Night, Riiko and Kokoa began walking up the slope as fast as they could while Amu just stood and watched.

Her Shugo Charas were concerned about the pink-haired girl's sudden state of fear.

"Amu-chan, you can't hesitate right now." Ran told her.

Amu gazed at the mountainside. The Utahraptors were being shot down one by one from both Riiko's team below them and Mizore at the top of the mountain.

"No matter how strong your force is, it will get swept away when the enemy has the higher ground. They'll be overwhelmed at this rate." _'I need to cut them down quickly while I still can. I can't afford to lose comrades here.'_

But then Su suddenly yelled out, "Amu-chan! Behind you!"

Instinctively, Amu dived forward, narrowly escaping the jaws of a Utahraptor. She quickly got up, gun at the ready and saw a fresh pack of Utahraptors, anxious to feast on her flesh.

'_There's ten at the front but for some reason, I can feel ten more behind them. They must be calling out to each other and sending wave after wave towards the source of distress. I have to hold them off on my own so that they don't crush the momentum of our attack uphill.'_ The pink haired girl thought as her eyes narrowed to sharpness.

The Utahraptors charged but Amu quickly fired two shots at the chest of the closest one, then one more at the head of the one to her right before running uphill.

She ran up as fast as she could, taking advantage of the Utahraptors difficulty in climbing the rocky hillside.

'_I see. Their toes aren't equipped to climb steep, rocky surfaces. I'll be able to gun them down with this tactic.'_ She thought before stopping behind a small rocky hill and setting down to a kneeling position with the gun resting on top of the hill.

She carefully picked her targets and saw that not only were there the eight Utahraptors she fought earlier but there were a group of five more coming from behind them. Then six more popped out from the jungle below.

She inhaled as sweat poured down from her forehead. Carefully, she squeezed the trigger.

She made three shots, two of which hit and killed one of the Utahraptors and the third only maiming the arm of one nearby Utahraptor.

The dinosaurs kept climbing at a slow pace. Some even tried to jump up but slid back down from bad footing. Amu took advantage of this and fired one more shot, killing another Utahraptor.

The maimed Utahraptor managed to get close enough and leaped towards Amu. As the dinosaur descended mouth first, Amu aimed her gun directly at the mouth. When the dinosaur descended close enough, Amu squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt of blue flame to bore through the dinosaurs head. Gravity did the rest and dragged the body downhill and on top of the Utahraptors.

Amu once again propped her gun on top of the hill and fired away shot after shot. She began sweating some more and managed to kill three more as the Utahraptors were getting too close for comfort.

She needed a way to halt their advance and fast. "Miki, let's chara change!"

Miki nodded and they chara changed into Amulet Maverick. Amu grabbed a nearby stone with her left hand and concentrated. _'Something to chain them down will help. It has to pin them to the ground and keep them there.'_

Her left hand and the stone glowed blue for a moment and the stone turned into a grey, cylindrical block. Amu threw it as hard as she could at the dinosaurs. It even managed to hit the head of one. But what happened next was shocking.

The cylinder suddenly burst open in four directions to reveal a web of interconnected stone chains with a sharp anchor at each end of the web. Because the chains were spread so wide, it managed to capture and pin down seven of the Utahraptors.

Amu aimed at the pinned dinosaurs and fired until all seven of them were dead. But seven more began climbing uphill and were getting closer. But they suddenly stopped halfway in their climb. They consecutively opened their mouths as a pink fireball charged up inside them.

Thinking on her feet, Amu, using her left hand, grabbed onto the hill she was hiding behind and concentrated really hard. The small portion of the hill she grabbed onto suddenly detached and turned into a large, man sized, stone, Roman shield. And just in time too. The seven Utahraptors fired their fireballs at Amu, bombarding the shield till it cracked. But one of the fireballs shot passed the shield and burned through Amu's left hand, disintegrating it completely.

Amu fell back as the Utahraptors began climbing up towards her.

Gritting through the pain, she crawled backwards while trying to aim her gun at the Utahraptors. _'It will not end this way!'_

A rain of blue flame shots rained down and killed the seven Utahraptors.

Amu looked up and saw it was Kurumu flying overhead. The succubus dropped down to Amu's level and saw what was left of Amu's left hand.

"Hang on Amu. They'll pay for this." Kurumu said as she helped Amu sit up.

The pink haired girl replied, "Su, chara change." Her outfit changed and she turned into Amulet Torniquet. Amu pulled out Desolator from her rucksack and shot at herself. The left hand fully regenerated and Amu returned to normal.

Kurumu was still amazed of Amu's healing ability. It was a miracle no matter how you look at it. "Sugoi. It's really amazing Amu. You've got some really cool powers."

Amu replied, "It helps. But I won't rely on them too much. It'll just make me dependent on it."

"Hey! Are you alright down there?" yelled Riiko, at the top of the mountain.

From the looks of the piles of dinosaur carcasses, they succeeded in their rescue.

"Yeah! We just made it." Yelled back Kurumu.

The succubus spread her wings and said, "Hold on tight. I don't want to drop you."

Amu hugged Kurumu and the two flew off to the top of the mountain.

* * *

Luckily, the top of the mountain was a small plateau and everybody sat down in a circle, completely exhausted.

"I really hope the day ends soon." Kurumu complained.

"It'll end when we kill a hundred of them." Mizore corrected her. "This visor is telling me that you only killed eight today."

"Man, that sucks. I still have 92 more to go." Kurumu complained once more.

"What about my kill count Mizore?" Night asked of her.

Mizore placed a hand on the left side of her visor and it showed the kill counts of every member. "Night's kill count is 15. Riiko's kill count is 12. Kokoa killed 11. I killed 10 and Amu killed 16."

They were incredibly amazed hearing that Amu gained the highest kills.

"That's incredible Amu-chan." Riiko replied. "You'll get out of here in no time."

Amu smiled slightly and said, "I guess so. But after what happened earlier, I've noticed some things that are different."

Riiko replied, "I felt it too. These weapons, well at least the guns have unlimited ammo. I can say this because I've fired at least a hundred shots by now and I can still keep firing. But every time I fire, I feel more drained than before."

Kokoa retorted, "The axe does the same thing. Every time I swing it, more of my energy is drained. The weapons seemed to be powered completely by the user."

Mizore answered, "So we're providing the bullets."

Kurumu nodded and said, "But that's not the only thing. Those Utahraptors aren't normal either. They can shoot fireballs out of their mouths. It managed to badly harm Amu but it didn't really hurt me at all. What's going on in this place?"

Amu placed a hand on her chin before asking, "Kurumu-san, you can use a bit of magic right?"

"Yeah. But it's mostly illusionary or seduction magic." The succubus replied.

Amu thought for a while then said, "I have an idea of what's going on."

They listened intently as Amu spoke.

"I wondered why Evangeline put us here when she was training us to learn the basics of magic. It would've been a waste to send us to battle creatures to compensate for our lack of talent. So what if, this place was a way to raise our magical talent? It makes sense. The air feels richer with a strange energy. The creatures themselves are bound to have a magical ability in this environment. Aren't the dinosaurs we fought more than enough proof?"

It began to click in Mizore's mind as well. "By just experiencing this place, we'll get stronger magically."

Kurumu cut in, "Wait Amu. What about the fireballs they fired out of their mouths? I still don't understand why it only hurt you."

Amu replied, "Did anyone else get hurt by their fireballs?"

They shook their heads.

Amu answered, "I guess, since this place is magical, their abilities must also be magical. Kurumu-san has more experience with magic than I do. So naturally, magical attacks are less effective to her than to me. Plus, Kurumu-san is not human so her body is much sturdier than mine."

Night saw the logic and the dangers because of it. "Then that means that Amu and Riiko are the most vulnerable in this place."

Riiko swallowed hard after hearing his words. "Yes, that's true. And it's also true that we can't go back until we kill a hundred Utahraptors each."

As disconcerting as it was, Riiko didn't seem disheartened at all. Her eyes still brimmed with confidence. In fact, you could even say, she liked the odds.

"For now, we should set up camp here. We're a lot safer on this mountain than anywhere else." Riiko told them as she stood up.

They followed suit and began unpacking, and calling it a day. No one complained. They all just knew what they had to do.

The hunt was long, but with their strength, it could be done and they all knew it could be done.

* * *

Back outside of Mahora Campus, Miharu paid the taxi driver his fee, allowing him to drive off to his next destination.

The nosy reporter thought to herself, _'I've finally found the pink-haired elementary student. Now I'll be able to find out what's going down. No challenge is big for this reporter.'

* * *

_

And that is a wrap. It took longer than expected but here it is. It'll take a while to update the next chapter. All I can say is I'll update whenever I'm free to.

Amatsu: Wow. They're doing something insane again. Are you a sadist?

A little bit. Is it a problem dear?

Amatsu: Not really. I'm a bit of a masochist…hey! Stop making me say embarrassing things, you dummy!

Don't worry. Nobody but me cares. But Amatsu, what's that in your hands?

Amatsu: Oh this? *shows a written piece of paper* It's your homework silly. You still have real life to attend. Stop procrastinating and get things done.

Guess it's back to real life then. I'll catch everybody at the next update.


	10. Secret Mission 10: Glam Rock

Even devils cry. The red trenchcoat wearing anti-hero knows this well. But what makes Dante the person he is? Who knows? But one thing is for sure…as long as there are demons plaguing our society, he'll be there, guns blazing and swords swinging while he wreaks mayhem upon them in style. For the stylish hunter for hire, the words 'chaos' and 'an army of demons' ring only one thing in mind…jackpot!

A/N: Hey there everyone. Let's give Dante and Co. a break from all the fighting. All they have to do now is relax at Evangeline's Resort.

* * *

**Devil May Cry**

_**Deviant Bedlam**_

Talking  
_'thinking/flashback'_  
**Enigmatic Talking/Techniques**  
_**'Enigmatic Thinking'**_

**Secret Mission 10:**_ Glam Rock_

* * *

Note: Dante will fight in Utau Hoshina's concert. Ikuto will get persistent about Dante, and ultimately, find out about Amu's predicament.

**5:34 AM**

**Mahora Academy, Japan**

* * *

The brown haired reporter named Miharu stood outside of Mahora Campus. Ever since she got some hard evidence on the previous 'Japanese Bank Bloodbath' her editor in chief gave her the go signal to continue her pursuit on this supernatural string of events.

She bravely entered the campus grounds all the while mulling about the evidence she has now.

'_First was the battle at the motel.'_ She began. _'The second was the Bank Bloodbath, the third was the pizzeria massacre, and last but not least, the Hospital Breakout.'_

She sat down on a nearby bench as she pulled out her wallet out of her right pocket. _'All of the events seem so random. The only thing connecting them are two people—the white haired guy and the pink haired elementary schoolgirl.'_

As she was about to open her wallet, she heard her cellphone ring. She dropped the wallet on her lap and pulled out the cellphone from her other pocket.

"Hey chief." She started on the line.

"Miharu thank God you answered. I've been calling all day. Where are you?" answered an older man.

Miharu replied, "Chief, I'm in Mahora Academy. I think I got a good lead on this one."

"What the hell are you doin' there?" answered the chief. "You're gonna lose your job if you start waving a mike around there. Reporters—"

"Are off-limits ever since the Mahora Festival." She cut in with a bored tone. "But I gotta make this one exception today. I'm like Sherlock finally chasing down Moriarity into his lair."

"Ughhh." The older man answered. A headache was coming down. "Will you give it a rest? Okay, I gave you your shot but now you're about to ruin it for a lead into Japan's United Nations."

Miharu was losing her patience. "Chief, reporters take risks. That's how news got into the papers. I've prepared for this. I have my watch, hidden cameras, a walkman…"

"Did you include diplomatic immunity?" answered the chief. "Don't take this the wrong way. I believe you. But if this heat gets any hotter, I've got no choice but leave you to burn. You're on your own Miharu. Get that interview, and get out of there. I want that report by Friday morning. You've got three days till then."

"Will do chief." She grumpily answered.

She turned off the phone and stowed it in her pocket not noticing the familiar looking man in a red trench coat walking out of Mahora Campus.

Miharu stood up and turned to begin her patrol of the city wide campus.

* * *

Back outside of Mahora Academy, Dante walked around looking for a nearby cab.

"Another errand. Hopefully, I won't get shot down by Interpol or any of the other guys after us." He quipped to himself.

Raising his hand out, he hailed a nearby cab that was on route. It was white but badly damaged. Regardless, it stopped by allowing Dante to enter.

"Take me to Great Sound Studio. I've got a job interview coming up and I don't wanna be late." He told the cab driver.

The cab driver shifted gears and drove off to Great Sound Studio.

* * *

Just outside the sandy yellow, four story building, Ikuto loitered around wearing a brown leather jacket, black shirt and faded blue jeans. He was still wondering what Amu was doing when no one was looking. But wandering around aimlessly didn't help him at all.

Suddenly, a white beat up cab pulled up allowing Dante to step in front of the same building.

The white-haired man looked up and saw the sign, 'GREAT SOUND STUDIO' printed on the front just above the fourth floor window.

"Not bad for a recording studio. But I still prefer Abbey Road." Dante quipped again.

At this point, Ikuto's curiosity was piqued. He looked at the red trench coat wearing, silver haired man who could pass for a rockstar on the road. But before he could think of anything else, Yukari Sanjou popped out of the front door.

"Ikuto? Why are you waiting out here. Come inside, Utau has been waiting for you all morning." She replied.

As Ikuto entered the building, Yukari noticed Dante waiting as well.

"Hi. You must be the temporary new bodyguard and guitarist." She said to him.

Dante replied, "Yep. May I come in?"

Yukari chuckled a little and said, "Yes, you may."

They walked into the building and up the flight of stairs.

Dante noticed that most of the first and second floor was empty or under repair. "I don't mean to pry, but what gives? This place looks like a wolf can blow it down."

Yukari sighed. "I'm really sorry about this. My original studio is also under construction thanks to a leak in the plumbing so a friend of mine lent me his studio just for the week. It is Utau's first big concert since we left Easter so we had to rush the preparations."

Dante nodded as they reached the wider spaced fourth floor. "I see. We'll have to make the comeback the wildest ride the audience has ever paid for."

Ikuto looked at Dante for a moment but ignored him afterwards. He was glad that such a person won't get involved in his life for long.

Yukari strolled ahead and opened the white door allowing them to enter the rather square room with a set of couches facing each other in the center.

Dante looked around the room and noticed that the windows were opposite the door. _'No glints in the distance. I'd really hear it from Evangeline if I get shot down and caught again.'_

He looked around and saw a small brown desk at the west side of the room. There was an ordinary PC and a few files on top as well as a basic fax machine. _'Modest space, modest equipment, enough to get by I guess.'_

At the east side however were a few posters on the wall like one on '**Detroit Metal City**', one on '**Kanon**', another on '**Buono!**', and one on '**Monkey Majik**'.

He crossed his arms together after viewing the posters. _'The last three posters are okay but there's something about Detroit Metal City…of course, DMC! I better get my business patented before these guys get the acronyms right.'_

"Uhm, excuse me." Yukari asked him.

Dante turned to face her and realized that Utau was already seated in one of the couches. "Oops. My bad." He walked over to Utau and reached out his hand. "Neil Gavin at your service my lady."

Utau's eyes widened slightly as she reached out her hand and shook his.

Having been acquainted, Yukari sat beside Utau while Ikuto and Dante sat down in the couch across them.

Yukari began the interview. "Ikuto, I'm really glad you came today. It means a lot to us that you'll be there for Utau's concert."

Ikuto replied, "I still work for Easter."

Utau answered, "Nii-san, even if you do, I'm still happy that you'll be there for me."

Ikuto looked away slightly.

Dante then asked, "So Sanjou-san, what exactly are the details for my job. I'd like to know what I'm really getting into."

Yukari replied, "Well, for starters, there will be a lot of fans coming and I have my hands full taking care of the technical details so I want you to be with Utau at all times."

Dante nodded and asked, "Is that okay with you Hoshina-san?"

Utau nodded. "I normally can handle myself, but being in an open place surrounded by the crowd is a little troublesome."

"Understood." Dante answered. "But you told me over the phone earlier that I had another job."

Yukari replied, "Yes, our lead guitarist called in sick last week and is in the hospital for a hand injury. I need you to learn the songs this week and play them on the day of the concert."

"Not a problem miss." Dante answered with confidence and a smile. "I used to be in a band myself so playing the guitar isn't a problem. When do I get started?"

Yukari and Utau looked at each other. They didn't expect such enthusiasm considering it was a rush job. Both looked back at Dante.

"We can start right away." Yukari replied. "I have my car out back so wait at the entrance."

* * *

The red car drove by, its passengers relaxed as a large grassy field came into view on the left side of the road.

"Why is it out here?" Ikuto asked.

Utau replied, "Because I chose this place. It's not too far from the houses and the wide spaces make it less cramped to be in."

They pulled up beside the lot, noticing the crewmen setting up the bleachers, stage and other equipment in place.

The small group left the car and walked towards the set, evading the crewmen carrying lights and speakers on the way. As they reached the stage, they noticed three men standing there by the instruments.

One of them (holding the bass guitar) had long brown hair and a gaunt look. "Wassup dude." He greeted them.

Another had a shaved head and was rather short but had a well built body. "So which one's the guitarist?" he asked as he twirled the drumsticks in his hands.

"You always know your manners." Said the last man wearing a turtleneck gray shirt and a red electric guitar.

Dante quickly approached them and began shaking hands. "Nice to see you fellas. The name's Dante. So who's ready for some music?"

Yukari suddenly cut in, "Dante, this is the band. They'll be doing the backup music for Utau's concert. This is the bassist—Kaiji, our drummer—Akira, and our 2nd guitarist—Shuichi."

Shuichi answered, "We're just about to begin practice. As soon as the staff plugs in the power, we can begin."

* * *

**6:42 PM**

**New York, U.S.A.**

* * *

Lady walked down the busy streets as the sound of traffic filled the air. The air was colder now so she wore a cream colored trench coat that ran up to her knees. Perfect to conceal warmth and weapons.

She slowed down her stroll as she came upon an intersection where she saw a blonde man with dark shades, standing at the corner, texting on his cellphone.

Lady halted for a moment and walked to a nearby magazine stand. She picked up a disposable camera from one of the trays there and inspected it.

"Hey, you gonna pay for that miss?" the man in the stall asked.

"Yeah. Caseless shots right?" she replied.

The man sighed. It wasn't who he expected. "Yep, the good stuff. I was expecting someone rougher looking."

Lady held out the camera in a playful manner. "With a name like Lady? Actual ones really exist you know. Are you mocking me?"

"No, no just doing my job… Anyway, it's easy, just point and shoot. Nothing too it right?" he replied.

"Maximum range?" she asked as she opened the box.

"About 50 yards give or take. My contact told me he'll be with his guys today. If you do it from a high place, you'll get the money shot." He answered.

"Good. I won't need to take snapshots then." Lady replied.

She took the camera and gave the man five dollars. Stuffing the camera in her coat, she continued her walk, tailing the blonde man from earlier.

* * *

She tailed him for an hour before the man finally stopped at a red hotel building. It was three stories tall but it was homely with several families walking in and out.

'_So this is the meeting place.'_ She thought to herself.

Moving inside the building, she walked past the lobby and to the nearby stairs, keeping an eye out for any lookouts her target might have.

Suddenly, she heard several screams and a loud animal like growl that drowned them. Then it went silent.

Lady hurried up the stairs towards the sound-room 10 on the 1st floor.

Kicking the door down, she saw nothing but dead men.

One was sitting by the bed with a gaping hole in his chest, the other tried to climb the window but the 6 inch diameter hole through his back saw he never would.

Lady noticed the bathroom door was partially open. She walked to it and pushed it aside, and saw the last man bleeding to death with several deep gashes on his chest.

"You're…(cough)…too late." He barely whispered.

Lady approached him and asked, "Where's he headed?"

The man replied, "Don't know. They're transfer…ring(cough)…ring(cough)"

Lady sighed. _'This isn't good. They're abandoning Mongolia and moving here. I have to stop the flunkie before he does something insane.'_

She pulled out her camera and said, "You're not gonna make it to the doctor or the police station. Any last requests?"

He coughed once more and said, "Yeah. I'd like to see a naked girl one last time."

She shook her head and said, "Men…all the same." She aimed her camera at his head and said, "Say cheese."

She depressed the clicker and a bullet soundlessly entered his brain.

Putting away the camera in her jacket, she ran out the door hoping she would be able to make it in time to stop Sebastian's flunkie.

* * *

**5:42 AM**

**Mahora Academy, Japan**

* * *

Tsukune and Moka wandered Library Island, carrying two baskets full of freshly baked bread. It was Tsukune's first time in Library Island so Moka decided to lead him through this strange, new place.

Saddling the basket in the grip of her left hand, she held Tsukune's left hand with her right.

"I'm glad we can finally rest from the training." Moka told him.

"I feel the same." Tsukune replied. "It was really nice of Evangeline to give us some time off."

They waded through the many narrow bridges till they reached a large rest area complete with a fountain and shelves of books by the sides. In the middle of the rest area, sat the rest of the anti-Sebastian Jenkins squad, with packs of food beside them.

"Damn that chibi-vampire! Who does she think she is ordering us to kill a bunch of lizards?" Yelled out Kurumu.

"It's a good thing you guys made it out. I thought you'd never leave that place." Stated Yukari.

Riiko sweatdopped at that phrase. "You don't have to be so harsh."

Soon Tsukune and Moka entered the rest area. They greeted their teammates and sat down to eat.

"By the way, where is Dante?" asked Mizore.

Trish replied, "He's off paying for that favor Amu asked him to do."

They looked to Amu wondering what she asked him. Seeing their curious looks, she answered, "I asked him to go help out a friend of mine in my place. I didn't want to leave Utau hanging after I made a promise to her."

"Utau?" Night muttered. "As in Hoshina Utau?"

Amu nodded. "Precisely. She's my good friend."

"You're quite the friend Amu." Tsukune spoke out. "Even if you can't make it yourself, you find ways to help her out."

Suddenly, a small cypher like object with a tv screen on it descended from the sky to eye level.

"We've got a report from our scouts in New York." Hakase told them. "It seems a man working for you-know-who was spotted having a meeting with a few realtors. According to our source, the meeting was halted partway by the flunkie who escaped after murdering the realtors."

"That's cruel!" yelled out Yukari and Kurumu.

"Hakase, what's a flunkie and a realtor?" Amu asked.

"A realtor sells real estate or land to people. A flunkie is someone you send in your place to perform duties." Hakase explained.

Amu thought about it for a minute then said, "So in theory, Jenkins-san sent someone to buy property in New York. He might be building another facility."

Mizore spoke next. "Where is the flunkie now?"

Hakase scratched her head. "Our scout is tracking him. We'll give more details when we have it."

The device flew off leaving the team to ponder about the situation as they ate.

"I think it's time for another raid." Moka spoke up.

"But where?" asked Tsukune. "We don't even know where to strike next."

Moka replied, "We do. New York. I think Jenkins-san is building another base in New York. He tried bargaining it legally but since that failed, he'll try to strong arm it from someone in charge of the land in question…the mayor. We'll march over to the mayor's office and safeguard him."

Mizore nodded. So did Amu. Trish shook her head and said, "Let's not rush. The mayor of New York is attending the US week long state conference in Washington D.C. Not even Jenkins himself can break apart that."

Night agreed. "It was on the news this morning. He should be fine for a while."

Trish spoke out, "Actually, you should worry about Evangeline's training. She's going to make it a lot harsher from here."

"What?" yelped Riiko. "But we just mastered how to bring out fire from our fingertips. She's a demon."

"Hoho, so you acknowledge I'm a demon." said a familiar voice right behind Riiko.

Their faces went blue with dread as Evangeline placed a hand on Riiko's frightened head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Riiko squeaked.

Evangeline strengthened her grasp and dragged her on the road out of Library Island. "Silence. You can ask for forgiveness after you finish your training."

The rest of the group watched in pity as Riiko was dragged out, still in fear of the Maga Nosferatu.

* * *

She dragged the poor girl into her resort and let her go by its center. Riiko got up and said, "Can't we rest a little? We just finished killing off those dinosaurs awhile back."

Evangeline wasn't amused. "Well, that is fine if you want. But at this rate, you'll only slow down everyone else."

Riiko smiled and put a hand on her chest. "It's fine. I can cover for everyone with my new skills."

Evangeline replied, "Tsukune said the same thing yet he wasn't able to prevent Moka from getting shot. There's no point lying about it. It's impossible."

Riiko frowned as her happy demeanor shed away. "You're right. Everyone else is powerful, even Amu-chan. Our enemies aren't people we can win against on a human level. What should I do Evangeline-san? There has to be a way to speed things up. You'll tell me right?"

Evangeline replied. "It's good you've realized it. This makes it much easier. At your current level, you'd be able to create a magic barrier around yourself. But in order to survive the next battles, you need to be able to cast a basic attack spell."

Riiko's face sharpened in seriousness. "Alright. What do I need to do to get to that level?"

Evangeline replied, "We'll skip the theoretical part and get to my kind of training." She begun to levitate as she summoned a magical blade, extending from her right arm. "Practical training."

Riiko's eyes became saucers as she panicked. "You're gonna beat it into me? Wait, Evangeline…"

"Listen carefully and do exactly as I say." Evangeline barked. "To summon a magic barrier, harness the magical energies within you and focus on turning it into a blanket over your entire body. Oh, and make it quick. My blade is very sharp."

Evangeline rushed the girl at a slightly superhuman level. Riiko dived out of the way. Stumbling as she did. But she quickly recovered and began focusing her magic. She wasn't able to do it on the fly but with enough time standing still, she can create the barrier she needs.

"Too slow." Evangeline stated as she closed in on the girl, aiming to stab her heart.

Riiko dived to the right, taking grazing wound on her left shoulder. Blood trickled as she got up and began concentrating for her life, while Evangeline pressed the attack.

Strike, evade…strike, evade…this became the cycle with Evangeline taking her speed higher and higher, causing more cuts on the teenager's body. Eventually, Riiko was pushed against the wall where Evangeline suddenly raised her free arm, summoning a binding spell over Riiko.

The poor girl was bound in magical chains of light to the wall. She had no choice but to put up a barrier.

Evangeline closed in ready to slice Riiko open. And at the last minute, Riiko mustered all her focus.

Evangeline made a swift stroke with her blade, cutting through the binds and cutting open Riiko's belly, creating a trickle of blood from the wound.

Riiko fell to her knees, exhausted as she held her bleeding stomach. Evangeline approached her and said. "Good enough. Even if it was last minute, you erected it perfectly."

Riiko faced her and said, "What do you mean perfectly?"

Evangeline replied, "My blade should have cut you in half. Suffering only a minor cut is commendable."

'_She's a monster!'_ Riiko thought in even greater fear of Evangeline.

The vampire dropped to the ground and stopped the blade spell on her arm. She put her hands on her hips and said, "For the next part, I will personally tutor you on the basics of spell casting. Get yourself cleaned up and I will see you back here."

"Ha..hai.." Riiko managed to utter. She got up and walked to the bathroom, her heart still beating in dread.

* * *

An hour of washing and a few bandages later, Riiko reappeared at the center of the resort, scared to death at what the vampire was going to do next. _'She'll definitely kill me next time. I have to apologize for calling her a demon.'_

When Evangeline was in sight, Riiko quickly ran over and bowed very low. "I'm sorry for calling you a demon! I swear I'm sorry! It won't happen again."

Evangeline looked at her and said, "It's fine. I'm not really mad."

Riiko faced her with a bright, yet forced smile. "That's great!"

Evangeline walked over to a nearby desk with three books of basic spell casting on top of it. She placed a hand on the desk and said, "In these books is the basics on spell theory and spell casting. By the end of the day, you must know how to cast a basic magical arrow. It's really simple. First is the opening of your magical channels. Western mages start by using a keyword or phrase as the focal point. But you don't have to do this."

"Why is that?" asked Riiko.

Evangeline replied, "Because of the training I gave you, you've been able to naturally focus and open your magical channels. Not even my first student was able to do that."

'_First student?' _Riiko thought.

"Since you can do so without using a keyword, we'll skip to the channeling of magic." Said the vampire.

She faced her pupil and raised her right hand to the sky. "**Lic lac la lac Lilac**." She said before slowly building her magic up onto her hand. Riiko paid close attention.

Evangeline gave the next instruction. "The next is shaping the magic. Doing this on your own is difficult for a beginner. Even magister magi take years to get here. So you have to invoke the spirits to shape the magic for you. This is what normal people see as incantation."

She took a breath of air and said, "_**Una Glacies, Coèuntes, sagittent inimicum meam. Saggita Magica Series Glacies!**_**(O Spirit of Ice, come together and strike mine enemy. Magical Arrows, Series of Ice.)**"

A powerful magical bolt of ice shot out of her hand and through the air in a straight line.

Riiko's eyes widened upon gazing the spell. Much like before, she was caught speechless.

"Su-sugoi! Evangeline-san, you're awesome! I can't believe that happened!" the teenager yelled.

Evangeline smirked and said, "Of course. I'm still a powerful mage in my own right." She turned to Riiko and said, "Now you will try it."

Riiko nodded and faced the sky. She took a deep breath, opened her magical channels, focused her magic, aimed her right hand at the sky and said, "_**Una Glacies, Coèuntes, sagittent inimicum meam. Saggita Magica Series Glacies!"**_

Nothing happened.

Evangeline laughed her head off.

Riiko burned red with embarrassment and faced the vampire. "Hey! You're mocking me on purpose! Teach me the real thing!"

Evangeline began to calm herself down out of pity for the poor girl. When she could breathe easy again, she told her, "That was the real thing. You performed it well from beginning to execution. However, it takes far more concentration to perform an attack spell than a defensive, instinctual one. Also, you need to know your affinity before casting a spell."

"Ah.." was all that Riiko could utter at first. _'She really intended on toying with me.'_

Evangeline cleared her throat and said, "Now that you know the spell, research on why it didn't work and what you need to do to make it work. If you can perform the spell by noon, you'll be one step closer to fighting the Hell Demons on their level."

Riiko blinked for a few seconds upon hearing that. A fire ignited in her soul at the thought of such an exciting and challenging task. She marched off. She sat on the chair by the desk and started looking through the books, eagerly devouring every page.

Every few pages she'd find something new and desperately tried it out to make the spell work. She would fail now and again, but she kept moving forward.

Evangeline watched her latest pupil take to it like oil on fire. _'She's exactly like the bozu. Her movements are rough, but she excels through hard work and ingenuity. This could get interesting.'_

* * *

Back at the stage in the middle of a grassy area…Dante had finished plugging the speakers and the electrical guitar he was given.

"Okay, we ready to rock?" He quipped.

The rest of the band nodded and took their places. The Drummer was stationed in the west side of the back, the bassist in the east side, the second guitarist beside him, with Dante a little bit in front of the drums.

"This setup is perfect. Utau and the backup dancers will be able to perform without worry." said, Shuichi.

They began to play a smooth tune to warm up. The Drummer played in rhythm as the bassist slapped a funky beat to the sound. Dante and Shuichi traded notes with their guitars, playing one tune and allowing the other to 'answer' it by playing his tune.

After 3 minutes, they ended the makeshift original.

"Not bad for a rookie." Said the drummer.

"Totally dude." Said the bassist.

Dante made a quick bow. "My pleasure. But I do wanna know the line-up so I can get some practice."

"Cool, dude." Said the bassist. "Alright so you know, we're coming on first. The lead guy, that's you, is gonna come on and check the mike as if he's a crew guy. So you gotta wear the clothes dude. Then, you plug in the guitar, and just jam along. Akira's gonna come on down looking the same and be all like 'Yo dude! What's the matter man? We gotta show to run.' But you just keep jammin' and he'll join in and start hitting the drums. Then Shuuchi is gonna ruin everything and tell you guys to stop, but then like outta nowhere I'm gonna pick up the bass and start pleasing the ladies. Then you guys start jammin' and Shuuchi is gonna give up and totally join us dude."

Dante nodded. It was really creative. "That's gonna be a good opening. Then I'm guessing, halfway through the opening we switch it up with Utau's songs."

"Yes. That's the plan." Shuichi added. "We'll start with _**'Trickster'**_ followed by '_**Replay Machine'**_ then move on to _**'FAKE ANGEL'**_ and _**'BE READY!'**_. This will be the lineup of the first half."

The band began practicing the songs, doing their best to get the flow and rhythm of the song.

While they did so, Utau and a few backup dancers began to practice their routine in the space beside the trailers and tents. The choreographer in the front wasn't too happy seeing their sloppy performance.

"Girls, girls! What have I told you about moving in step?" the choreographer complained as he rubbed his bald head in frustration.

He clapped in beats as Utau and the backup dancers danced in step while Yukari and Ikuto watched.

"So what have you been doing lately Ikuto? Utau has been worried sick about you." Yukari asked.

Ikuto replied, "I've been keeping tabs on a friend."

Yukari instantly got the meaning. "Is it about Amu-chan?"

Ikuto didn't reply but Yukari knew she hit the mark. "Ikuto, that girl can take care of herself. She was able to do with Utau what I never could. You have to put a little faith in her."

Ikuto replied, "Yukari, have you had any contact with Amu lately?"

Yukari replied, "Yes. She's the one who recommended Neil Gavin as the replacement guitarist."

Ikuto looked that the white haired man and wondered where Amu met him.

"Where did she meet him?" Ikuto asked.

Yukari replied, "I've been thinking the same thing. Amu hasn't been the same. I don't know when she changed but she's become a whole different person. Now even her friends are different and I'm getting a bit worried. Ikuto, could you do me a favor?"

Ikuto listened in as Yukari said, "I'd like you to find out about this Neil Gavin. Something about him doesn't smell right. I don't want to find out he's another Utau stalker coming to kidnap her. Make sure to report it to me by tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM."

"That's really pushing it Yukari." Ikuto replied. "But I'll see what I can do."

They continued to watch Utau's practice while the band played through the first half of the lineup once again. After a few more hours, night fell and it was time to call it a day.

* * *

As promised, Dante doubled as Utau's bodyguard and escorted her to the nearby hotel that they had booked for the week.

Entering the lobby, Yukari, Dante, Ikuto and a disguised Utau went to the front desk and checked in.

They went into the elevator and rode it to the 5th floor. As soon as it reached its floor, they left it and Yukari bowed to Dante. "Otsukaresama Deshita(Thank you for the hard work). Utau and I will be sleeping in room 501."

Utau faced her brother and said, "Nii-san, thank you for coming."

Ikuto once again was wordless but they knew he was meaning to say thanks. He turned around and left for his room. Dante followed shortly and entered his room as well. The first day was done.

* * *

**6:00 AM—12:00 PM**

**Utau's Concert Area, Japan**

* * *

They woke up bright and early and drove on by to the nearly built arena where Utau and her band practiced long and hard.

The band would practice the lineup while Utau sang with them. After lunch, Utau and the back-up dancers performed on stage followed by an actual rehearsal with the band and sound team.

* * *

**6:00 AM—12:00 PM**

**Mahora Academy, Japan**

* * *

Whilst this happened, in Mahora Academy, the rest of the anti-Sebastian Jenkins squad trained under Evangeline in her resort for three days—three hours in real time. Since only Riiko, Night and Amu had school, the three still attended classes while keeping low profile of their double lives. It was especially hard for Amu as she still had duties as the Joker's chair. But she manages and successfully pulls things together much to her peer's amazement.

Riiko and Night, while not heavily taxed in responsibility, are heavily taxed socially. Night is a bishounen. Meaning he attracts a lot of girls. Riiko is an average girl. Meaning she attracts average guys. If the school were to find out that Night is her boyfriend, it would attract animosity and jealousy from the other girls and from her childhood friend—an average guy. Luckily, no one notices this despite Night's straightforward persona.

It is a different case with the Yokai Academy-gumi. As they are still exiles, they cannot attend classes. And since the fiasco in the Kinderheim Hospital, they are still being hunted and cannot move easily in the open. So they spend the day enduring the brunt of Evangeline's training, followed by physical training in the real world(including military maneuvers and weapon training) and cut off for lunch to end the morning.

* * *

**12:00 PM—5:00 PM**

**Utau's Concert Area, Japan**

* * *

The day coming to an end, Utau's rehearsal continues on well through the afternoon. The band, along with the backup dancers, is given the chance to practice their choreography of the second half of the lineup.

In the meantime, Utau is allowed to rest in her hotel room. She sits in front of her desk, using the laptop Yukari gave her to use. Currently, she was browsing through her email. Most of it was junk or the occasional letters from her fans. But one in particular was odd. This one had no return address, yet the title of the mail was 'I love you more than you know'.

"What could this be?" Utau commented as she opened the mail.

But when she opened it up, the mail read as:

* * *

_Dear Utau,_

_I've been in love with you for a long time now. I can only say this through email because you're too far away for me. But I'm getting closer now. And I think I can meet with you very soon._

* * *

'_Is this a stalker mailing me?'_ the young star thought.

It wasn't the first time she was being stalked. But no one had gotten as close as getting her email address.

She stood up and was about to call her manager when the woman in question entered the room.

"Utau, let's go get some dinner." The woman asked.

Utau nodded. "Yes, let's eat. I'm starving."

The two walked out of the room as Dante joined them.

"Where's onii-san?" Utau asked.

Dante replied, "Oh he's in school. At least I think he is. Don't bother with him. Stay on track and he'll be right back."

"I understand." Utau replied.

They went into the hotel dining room on the same floor and sat beside the band who were already eating a hearty meal.

"Come on, join us." Shuuchi coaxed them.

The waiter came and asked for their orders. Utau ordered a plate of salad and some juice while Yukari ordered a plate of chicken and some soup. Dante ordered the roast beef and some white wine as his meal.

"Well, here's my report…we found three stalkers by the bushes," Dante started, "and a paparazzi trying to bribe their way in. They won't be bothering us anymore."

"Dude, how'd you find them?" the bassist asked.

"I looked around. I'm not gonna let a few guys ruin the day now." Dante answered.

"Man. That really sucks. Second day, and already we're getting flashed." The drummer answered.

"It's a good thing you were there Neil. I'm so glad Amu asked for you." Yukari answered.

"Wait. Amu asked him for the job?" Utau asked.

"Yeah. She said I only knew how to play guitar and beat people up so I might as well use my God given talents to the best of my ability." Dante quipped.

"Aw don't be a wimp." The drummer replied. "I'm sure you got other cool things you can do."

The waiter arrived with their meals and served them with a smile.

As they ate, Dante casually looked around the room. It seems that there were a few people with cellphone cameras taking sneaky shots at the young star.

'_Not much I could do about that.'_ Dante thought.

Soon, they all finished their meals, and went back to their rooms, ending another day.

* * *

**12:00 PM—5:00 PM**

**Mahora Academy, Japan**

* * *

While the Yokai-gumi relaxed, Riiko, Night and Amu slaved away in school.

Amu in particular was busy with the rest of the student council in the Royal Garden.

"That will be it for today." Tadase announced, ending their meeting.

"Aww, I want to go to Utau-chan's concert this Sunday." Yaya complained.

"Don't be like that Yaya. You'll never get any tickets that way." Nagihiko gently corrected.

Rima faced Amu and said, "Amu-chan, aren't you going to the concert?"

The pink haired girl replied, "I don't have any tickets either. I want to go, but it's all sold out."

Tadase suddenly added, "But the concert will be on TV the next day. We can all watch it then."

Nagihiko nodded. "Yes, that would be great. I'll get the time for it so we can watch together."

With their duties done, Rima, Nagihiko and Yaya left early leaving Tadase and Amu to fix the papers on the desk and bring them into the school.

"Let's take these in Amu." Tadase said as he picked up a stack of papers.

Amu nodded and picked up the remaining stack.

They walked into the school to dump the papers on the prinicpal's desk. As they traveled down the halls, Tadase asked, "Amu-chan, are you free this Sunday? I was thinking of going to the amusement park but everyone else said they can't make it."

Amu blushed a little, knowing that he was stealthily asking her out. "Um, it…it's okay. I have nothing to do that day."

Tadase's face brightened. "Really? I'm glad. Ah, what time should I pick you up. Oh, that sounds like I'm asking you out."

'_Tadase, you already did. I still can't believe you'd be so forward.'_ Amu thought as her blush remained.

The two reached the principal's office and dumped the papers on his desk. With nothing more to do, they faced each other and Amu said, "Tadase-san…I-I'll be waiting at the entrance. How about ten o'clock?"

The blonde boy replied, "Ye-yeah. That would be great. I'll see you at 10."

They walked out of the school keeping their distance and eventually went their separate ways.

* * *

Amu walked to her house, with a light feeling in her heart.

'_Tadase finally asked me out!'_ She thought, remembering the encounter.

Her Shugo Charas flew around her, knowing how lovey dovey the two were earlier.

"Amu-chan is finally going on a date!" Ran yelled out.

"Good for you Amu." Miki added.

"We'd better prepare what we'll wear on Sunday." Su pitched in.

'_I'll have to buy some good clothes. Something Tadase will like.'_ She thought as she neared her house.

"Your face is red." Said a familiar voice beside her.

Amu looked and noticed it was Ikuto.

"It's nothing you need to notice. I still have a life. Did you spend the money well?" she asked.

Ikuto replied. "Only because you asked. I used it sparingly."

The pink haired girl looked a bit at Ikuto and smelled a sweet scent from him. "You've been visiting Utau lately. That's awfully sweet of you."

"How did you know?" Ikuto asked.

"Because I was the one who gave Utau the perfume that I'm smelling on you." She answered.

"That brand is very expensive Amu." Ikuto stated. "Did you save up for it?"

'_He's investigating my accounts. He must have noticed the price on the perfume and realized it's above my allowance.'_ The pink haired girl thought. "Yes. I wanted to get Utau a birthday gift but the perfume she was looking for was about to be sold out so I bought it in advance and gave it to her during her birthday."

Ikuto was getting nowhere like this. She wasn't giving any hints that he could explore. So he decided to take the more straightforward approach.

"Amu, tell me the truth. Did you send a man in your place to aid Utau in her concert?" Ikuto asked.

Amu replied, "Yeah. He's a hardworking guy."

"What was his name?" Ikuto asked hoping to corner Amu.

"Dante Sparda. Is there something wrong?" Amu told truthfully, not sure where Ikuto was getting to.

"That's strange. A man named Neil Gavin came to us instead." Ikuto answered.

"What? That can't be true. I've been in contact with Dante and he said he's been working there as promised." Amu answered with a little bit of fright in her voice.

"Can you describe him to me?" Ikuto asked as he processed the new information.

"White hair, looks like an American and wears a red trenchcoat most of the times." Amu answered.

'_So he gave away a false name. If Amu doesn't know that, he hasn't been completely honest with her.'_ thought Ikuto. "Who is this guy Amu? He's not telling me anything and I'm getting worried."

Amu didn't like that he was pressuring her. "Why should you? Because of Easter, my life is full of all sorts of surprises."

Ikuto answered, "Because I don't want to find out those surprises involve you getting hurt."

Amu was taken aback by Ikuto's sudden straightforwardness. She had never seen him with his heart on his sleeve. And seeing it for the first time, she realized it was warmer than she expected.

Amu replied, "So it seems. Alright I'll tell you. I met him on the way home from a trip to the city library. It was nighttime and the bus wouldn't arrive till morning. A group of delinquents came to the bus stop and were about to harass me until he arrived in his car and took care of them. He asked me if I needed a ride home. I didn't have a choice so I joined him and he took me to the nearest place I knew—Rima's house."

So far, Ikuto knew at the very least that Dante wasn't all that bad. But it felt like Amu wasn't giving the whole picture. But without evidence, he couldn't make concrete judgments based on a hunch. He needed something more.

Suddenly Amu's phone rang. She picked it up and noticed it was a text message.

* * *

2/20/20XX, 6:42 PM

Sender: Lady

Amu, I'm pretty busy in America and another job just came in. There's a group of demons who are planning to kidnap a group of upcoming artists and hypnotize them into working for them. They call themselves 'New Commandment' and are holed up in the Tsubaki Hotel building close to the area where Utau Hoshina is going to hold her concert. My source tells me that they're preparing to kidnap the star after her first breakthrough concert and have been seen prowling the concert area.

Eliminate them quietly. This is a high profile job so caution is a requirement. Leave no witnesses, or traces. Do it at night when they're asleep and use a suppressed weapon. You will get your usual rate for this mission should you choose to accept. Happy Hunting Amu.

-End of Message-

* * *

Amu closed her phone and tucked it in her pocket. "Ikuto, I appreciate your concern but I have to go. Please, take care of yourself for Utau's sake."

She turned and left, mixed feelings still in her heart.

* * *

She walked to the Seven Eleven by her house and started gathering the things she needed for the mission. Thanks to her training, she learned from Lowe and his crew how to stalk, and quietly kill a target. Only now, she will put it to the test.

She pulled out a plastic basket from the racks and walked around the store. She dumped in it some plastic injections, a bottle of bleach, two pairs of disposable gloves, a toy tennis racket, a toy radio, a black handkerchief, and a white one.

She placed it on the counter and the cashier noticed the things she was paying for. _'What is she going to do with those things?' _He shook his head knowing there was nothing good afoot. _'Don't think about it. It's none of your business.'_

The fat manager came out of the next room and noticed the same girl from last time. "Are you going out again?"

She briefly looked at him and gave him a yes.

The manager looked at the stuff in her cart and dreaded at what she was going to do with it. "I heard nothing, I saw nothing and if I was there, I was asleep."

"That's an excellent policy." Amu noted. "I should use that in the future."

"You're not Italian mob by any chance?" the manager asked hoping she wasn't.

"No. Just a hired gun." She replied as she placed the payment over the counter. The cashier placed the items in a paper bag and handed it to her. She walked out of the store with the bag and walked home.

Briefly greeting her parents and younger sister, she walked into her room and neatly spread the items on her desk. She sat down and pulled out a bottle of Sodium Pentothal that she received from Lowe and begun filling most of her injections with it.

"What's that Amu-chan?" Miki asked, as she and the other two shugo charas hovered over her desk.

"It's a chemical that puts people to sleep. I need to be ready in case bystanders unexpectedly show up." Amu explained as she carefully measured the amount she extracted per injection.

"It's almost as if you enjoy this Amu-chan." Su added.

After finishing every injection, she placed each inside a sling-type shoulder strap beside the gun holster, so she could pull it out from her jacket like a gun. Whatever injections she couldn't put in there, she left inside a small sling bag along with her gloves and handkerchiefs.

She then pulled out the toy tennis racket from the paper bag and pulled out a pair of wire cutters from her drawer, and started cutting it to release the fiber wire. After carefully blunting the ends of the cut wire on a piece of sandpaper, she coiled it and placed it in her bag along with the toy radio.

Looking at the clock, she noticed it was 7:15 PM. She had to finish this up quick.

She pulled out her Nagant Revolver, loaded it and screwed on the suppressor, then holstered it in the gun holster.

"Everyone, I need you to join me on this." Amu asked her shugo charas.

"We're with you all the way Amu-chan." Ran told her. Miki and Su simply nodded.

She stood up and slung her small sling bag over her shoulder, snuck out her window, ran to the bus stop and entered the bus to the Tsubaki Hotel.

* * *

Entering the building, she saw all sorts of people at the lobby. Most were foreigners but some were Japanese people who just came from overseas.

Amu looked around and managed to find a map of all four floors. She memorized the maps and walked to the nearby ladies room and shut herself inside a stall. No one else was in the comfort room so she chara changed into Amulet Maverick and texted Lady asking her what are the signs a person is part of the 'New Commandment'.

A few seconds later, Lady texted back… _A sword over an open book tattoo on the right wrist. _

A picture of the tattoo went along with it.

Amu pulled out filled syringe and a small radio with her left hand, and thought hard. It glowed blue for a second then turned into five, transparent mosquitos with mini antennas on their heads and measuring lines across their bodies.

"This is what we're looking for." Amu told the insects as she showed them the picture. "They're in the building. Find them, where they're staying and text the room number to my cellphone."

The insects flew off underneath the stall and comfort room door and began their search. Amu switched out of the chara change and back into her school uniform.

She walked out of the stall and out of the comfort room and decided to wait by the lobby. She sat down on the nearby couch, pretending to read a teen magazine. A few minutes later, a text arrived on her cellphone. She opened it and it read… _5 men, room 401._

Just as she was about to close it, another text appeared. It read… _4 men, room 402. One bug died getting this._

She continued reading the teen magazine for another few minutes then another text message came in. It read… _I'm the only one left. Last 6 men, room 404. Returning to base._

The transparent mosquito returned to Amu and landed on her nose. She whispered to it, "Get in the bag."

The bug did as it was told and went inside the bag. Amu put the magazine down and noticed it was 8:00 PM.

'_It's still early. I have to wait till 1:00 AM to make sure they're asleep. I'd better find the room keys while waiting.'_ She thought.

Su suddenly whispered in Amu's ears, "How about getting the keys to their rooms? It will make it easier."

Amu whispered back, "That's what I was thinking. But who has those keys aside from the ones renting the rooms?"

Amu then saw one of the hotel cleaners enter the lobby. Something began to click in her mind. _'When the janitors have to clean something on a room in a floor, they'll need a key that can open that room. If I can procure their master key, I can open the door to the rooms on the fourth floor.'_

She paid attention to the cleaner from her seat and noticed that he was talking to the receptionist. When he walked away and to the elevator, Amu stood up and walked to chase after him.

She entered the elevator just in time and noticed that the 4th floor button was lighted up. The doors closed and the elevator rose to the fourth floor. The cleaner and Amu exited it and walked down the halls of the fourth floor. Amu pulled out her cellphone and put it by her ear, pretending to make a call as the cleaner stopped in front of room 403. He pulled out the master keycard placed it in the slot and waited for the little glass bulb above it to turn green.

Amu paid attention whilst keeping her cover. In three seconds the bulb turned green, and she shut her phone and tucked it in her pocket.

The cleaner pulled out the keycard, tucked it in his pocket and entered the room. He was about to close the door as he entered but Amu suddenly rushed into the room and jumped on his back, held her left hand over his mouth while stabbing a syringe on the man's jugular vein. She emptied the contents in his vein as he struggled to pull her away. He moved further forward into the room and threw her to the ground and yanked the needle out of his neck, "Whu da herru awerew u…" he slurred unable to say much as the anesthetic took effect.

Amu quickly got up as the man was about to run. She threw her bag at the back of his knee and he stumbled long enough for Amu to pull out her white handkerchief and run to him. She jumped on him and held the handkerchief over his mouth as he lay on the ground. He struggled a bit more but after several more seconds, he eventually lost strength and fell unconscious.

Amu's breath was heavy from the ordeal but she accomplished her goal. She went to the door held the handle with her white handkerchief and shut it and put the chain on it for double protection. She quickly went to the unconscious man and took his keycard and put it in her pocket along with the handkerchief. She went to her bag and pulled out her disposable gloves. Wearing it, she noticed the wall clock across her said that the time was 8:20 PM.

'_Still early. I have more time than I expected. This can be useful.'_ She thought.

She then held the cleaner by the foot and dragged him to the bathroom. Ran, Miki and Su pushed down on the handle allowing the door to swing in. Amu dragged the cleaner further in before pulling out his belt and binding his legs together with it. She went back into the room and pulled out the pillow casing and went and used it to tie up the cleaners hands behind his back. She went back and pulled out two more pillow casings and tied them over the cleaner's eyes and mouth preventing him from screaming and seeing if ever he woke up.

She carried him over her shoulders and tossed him in the bath tub then exited the room and shut it for good. She sighed in relief that the deed was done. _'I need to find a more effective way to knock them out.'_

"Amu-chan sure is having a hard time being a hitman." Ran commented.

"The TV shows make it so easy." Su added.

"The real thing will always be harder to deal with." Miki finalized.

Amu sat on the bed thinking about how she was going to deal with the actual targets. _'When the clock hits 1:00 AM, I'm going in and shooting them point blank. I'll have to avoid aiming at them where the bullet's loud sounds don't echo into the next room. After I take all of them down, I'll bleach the place as I backtrack just like Lowe taught me.'_

"Now we just wait for 1:00 AM. We'll begin the next phase of the operation then." Amu told her Shugo Charas.

So they waited.

* * *

1:00 AM showed on the face of the clock and Amu stood up and pulled out the black handkerchief from her pocket. She pulled it over her face, covering it from the nose down.

She went over to her sling bag on the floor and slung it once more over her shoulder as she could hear the faint grunting noises the tied up cleaner was making. He'd woken up several hours ago but despite his best efforts, he couldn't break free.

Amu walked out the door and quickly went to room 404 to start.

She pulled out the keycard and placed it in the slot on the door. It lighted green and she soundlessly entered, pulling the suppressed revolver out of her school jacket and cocked back the hammer.

There were three Japanese looking men sleeping on the large bed while the other three slept on extra beds on the floor. Amu walked over and aimed her gun at the first one on the floor. She squeezed the trigger and a bullet soundlessly entered his brain. Black blood spread over his pillow, indicating that he was a demon. Amu aimed at the next one and put a bullet in his skull. She did the same to the next one before aiming at the three on the bed. In quick succession, she put bullets in their brains. She holstered her weapon before pulling out the bottle of bleach and spraying it over her footsteps as she backtracked all the way to room 403.

She closed the lid on the bottle, and proceeded into room 402. She used the keycard and entered seeing the four men on the large bed of the room. She pulled out her gun and emptied the shells into her bag and placed in new bullets before cocking the hammer back. She aimed at the nearest demon and put a bullet in his brain before successfully doing the same with his other sleeping companions. She routinely put the empty shells in her bag while pulling out four new ones to replace it before holstering the gun and bleaching the floor as she backtracked to room 403.

'_The last one.'_ She thought as she walked to room 401. She used the keycard and entered the room to find two men on the bed. She aimed her gun and gave them a permanent rest. But something was odd about this room.

'_There were five in this one. Where are the other three?'_ She thought.

She looked around and checked under the beds. No one there. Then she checked in the closet and low and behold, two men sat back to back asleep inside the large closet.

Amu went closer and aimed the gun over the crown of one man's head. She pulled the trigger then quickly did the same with the other one before he could wake up.

She deduced that the last one must be in the toilet. She waited by the door, sticking to the wall beside it. She heard the flushing sound coming from inside and took a deep breath as the door opened. She aimed her gun at where she estimated his head would be. And as soon as he came through, she pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through his brain. The last target fell that night.

She sighed in relief and holstered her gun as she monotonously bleached her footsteps, back tracking all the way into room 403. She continued all the way to the window and carefully opened it. With the bottle of bleach no more, she stowed the empty bottle in her bag and chara changed into Amulet Spirit. She flew out of the window all the way back to her house.

* * *

Amu returned to normal as she threw the disposable gloves, white handkerchief and empty bottle of bleach in the trash can outside of her house.

"This is incredibly tiring. The pressure of keeping stealthy is something I will never get used to." She commented after being able to breathe easily for the first time this day. _'I don't know how much more I can take. Evangeline's training can wait. I don't give a damn. I want to sleep my troubles away. Especially now that Ikuto is getting closer to the truth. I think I see why Lowe and the pilots drink so often. But I must hold on a little longer and I and the world will be free.'_

She went around the back of her house and climbed up the drainage pipe and jumped onto the balcony of her room before walking past the sliding windows and into her bedroom. She quickly put on her pajamas and tossed her gunpowder smelling clothes out on the balcony before she tossed all her other equipment in her drawers, including her gun.

Dead tired, she quickly jumped into her bed and fell into a deep sleep. Yet as all this happened, Ikuto watched in horror from behind the closet door. he had seen the things Amu had tossed into the drawers including the gun.

"What the hell is going on?" Ikuto said in a hushed tone.

* * *

Well, there you have it folks.

Amatsu: I'm glad you finally finished it. Let's try to finish the next one on time.

Alright dear. I'll do that. Thank you everyone for reading this chapter. See you next time.


End file.
